


Too Wise To Woo Peacefully

by ShirlyGallagher



Series: A WestCoast Epilogue [1]
Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 6 years later, Alternate Universe, Domestic Bliss, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Future Fic, OTP Feels, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Seattle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-06-17 18:31:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15467439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShirlyGallagher/pseuds/ShirlyGallagher
Summary: 6 years after fleeing Riverdale...Betty and Jughead dig into their extensive history as a new chapter of their life together begins...~~~** 4th Bughead FanFiction Awards Nominee for:Best Post Highschool AU, Best Post Highschool AU outside New York, AND Best Series.**





	1. Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't stay away! 
> 
> I've been sitting on bits and pieces of this story for ever and am dying to share it with you guys.
> 
> It's a bit different than what you're used to reading from me, BUT I think you will all really like it in the end!
> 
> This story is told through some flashbacks (because if you know me, you know I love em') so keep that in mind as you follow along.
> 
> As always my work is un-betaed so...be gentle ;)
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> FanFiction is for lovers. Reads, Comments, and Kudos are always appreciated.
> 
> ~~~

_If I change am I denying what was said?_  
_If I remain the same, am I creating greater problems instead?_  
_Do you ever think you're being thought about?_  
_Do you still believe we need to sort things out?_  
_Does it matter now, all those things we said?_  
_I want to know can I still creep into your bed at night?_  
_And leave your head alone..._

_~ KT Tunstall - Change ~_

~~~

Jughead sat in the large soft leather armchair near the window, his feet propped up on the sill, enjoying the calm summer sunrise. He had been up for a few hours at that point, having given up on sleep somewhere just before dawn. He had carefully rolled out of her warm, grappled embrace, generating only a slight mumbled protest from his sleeping lover.

His sleeping habits were far from regular nowadays. There had been a time, over a brief few years where he fell into contented sleep quickly, when out on the open road, in the fresh air, back when it was just the 2 of them. But those blissful, carefree days were of the past and now his mind was a traitor. He had fallen back into the pesky insomniac habits of his youth, though he hoped that one day, with time, that maybe he could return to that relaxed euphoria.

So before the sun was fully awake Jughead had made coffee, then fed the fish (Todd) along with the cat (Pekoe). He then showered and returned to his perch in their bedroom area, his all-time favourite view from their loft. He could see over the whole of their quiet neighbourhood, past the city skyline and onwards to the mountains with ease.

The apartment Betty had found them almost 6 years ago, was a true treasure. Big, rare and old. After a prolonged and near panicked search, she finally came across it while they were still on the road. The pair were staying in Portland and spent a rainy afternoon huddled together in a tightly packed coffee house, downing refill after refill, hoarding the free wifi, drooling over pictures and filling out the online application. After a lengthy phone interview with Leslie (their new landlady), a reference check (thanks to 'landlord' Fred Andrews) and a brief Skype call, they put down a deposit and the place was theirs.

They moved in the second they arrived in Seattle. They rolled up with nothing but the clothing and camping gear they had spent the past 2 months in. Polly and JB would start shipping out their things in mid-September, but until then, they camped out in their new apartment. They even set their tent up, inside, just for fun, and because they could with ease in their giant space.

It had been an old textiles factory, built in the 30's, operational through to the 50's, abandoned in the 60's then modestly converted into a long, one-room apartment in the 80's. From the ground floor entrance, there was a narrow flight of stairs that spilled you out into a small, closet-like mudroom at the top before the large space opened up and sprawled out in either direction. Tall windows flanked all 4 sides of the galley style space and a large 'U' shaped kitchen with a big island occupied one end, while their bedroom space occupied the opposite end and the small efficient bathroom was tucked behind the kitchen for ease of the shared exposed plumbing. Their office and living room spaces occupied the center but left plenty of room for a plethora of house plants, bookshelves and even a reading nook, of sorts, where Jughead was currently relaxing.

Their apparent was situated above a large laundry mat, dry cleaners and more recently a coffee shop. Shit coffee, but tragically convenient. The landlady had little luck keeping reliable tenants because, for some reason, no one wanted to live above noisy businesses. It didn't bother Betty and Jughead because the shops below ran on mostly bankers hours, so the building was quiet at night and on the weekends and the added noise factor did keep their rent insanely low.

When they moved in Jughead felt like they could never fill up the loft. Like the vast space between the dye-stained hardwood floors and the tall exposed ceiling jousts would forever feel vacant. But, after only 2 years into living in the loft, they managed to make it their own just fine, steering into the whimsical and retro esthetic by highlighting the uncovered brick behind their bed, while framing their tall windows with lights and tapestry.

Now, 6 years later, the aloe he had bought her at the bodega style grocery store around the corner from their building, their first week of living there, had flourished into a large floor dwelling planter and occupied the entire corner set of windows in their bedroom, opposite his current perch. And though most of the decorating was done by Betty, his personality and input was included in everything, right down to their indoor hammock, hamburger dishcloths and red plaid bedsheets.

Bit by bit they built a home together. It was quirky, warm and a perfect reflection of the both of them, together. And he couldn't count the times he thanked his lucky stars for his life with her.

Even though it was Saturday, their neighbourhood was churning awake early with eager joggers taking advantage of the minimal traffic by running through the streets. A few stumbling walkers of shame made the perilous journey home, while green thumb neighbours watered their plants before the heat of the summer wilted everything in sight.

Betty would be out cold for a few hours, leaving Jughead with his thoughts. His overbearing and often consuming thoughts. He glanced over at her heaped naked body, cloaked modestly by their miss matched sheets. Her hair was splayed out around her head like a messy golden crown as she slept peacefully across the room from him.

She really hadn't changed, physically, since they ran away from Riverdale. She was about to turn 24 and still possessed the same ethereal beauty of her youth, only now she was polished to her own liking, and not someone else's. Now her hair was longer and she wore it loose in her natural waves more often than not, which, he adored. Her curves were still tight, but somehow softer too, rounder and celebrated more by their owner. Her angry, red, crescent moon notches had healed again into faint palm scars, and aside for the addition of one tattoo, a small 3 point crown just above her left hipbone, every other detail of her skin was as it was the day they left New York, nearly 6 years ago. She had grown into a confident, creative and charismatic woman, one who still stood up for what she believed in like no other. She still asked hard-hitting questions, but now her work provided her with a platform and a voice that she lacked in their youth. She still cared with the most empathetic heart in the world, still fixed cars, still cooked the best food, still baked the best cookies, still made the best love. She still tried to help solve problems, was still the best listener and still gave the most insightful and sage advice which made her instantly popular, so she made quality friends easily in their new city.

He had grown too, though he still wrote constantly, still drank more coffee than anything else, still took it black, still had a sarcastic sense of humour, still had an insatiable appetite in all definitions of the word, and was still cynical. But, over the years, he allowed her outgoing nature to pull him out of the shadows more, and soon through their combined wit, charm and magnetism they became the reigning king and queen of their social circle. They hosted parties, entertained for nearly any holiday or reason, they went out, had 'couple friends' whom they had dinners with regularly, and hosted out of town visitors frequently too.

As he pondered, Pekoe hopped onto the windowsill that his bare feet were propped up in, her orange tail swaying expectantly at the sight of a bird on the rod-iron fire escape outside. Jughead gently rubbed his feet against her marmalade fur, always not quite a cat person. But, Betty had literally found the poor little fur ball in a cardboard box with 7 other kittens, dumped in the alley behind their building. Obviously, he couldn't turn them away, but luckily all the others were adopted out through the local shelter. Still, the orange little runt Betty named 'Pekoe' (after the tea) stole her heart. Now 3 years later, Betty sometimes teased that Pekoe loved Jughead more than the tiny orange puffball loved her.

He figured he had changed physically too. Looking at his feet, still buried in orange fur, and then up the length of his body, he noticed the obvious changes, the addition of a few of his own tattoos to start. But also stronger muscles, yet a softer stomach, and a couple more scars with funny anecdotal stories to match. He let his facial hair grow out every now and then and had glasses for driving now too, which he often forgot to take off. He had kept his hair the same, mostly because there was no taming it, so he still wore a gray beanie, just a less statement styled one (having retired his crown on his 21st birthday) and still rotated through a dark rainbow of 'S' tshirts and plaid.

Emotionally he knew he had changed. A lot. To what extent though? He wasn't sure if she would ever understand. But, he was willing to spend the rest of his life trying to show her just how much.

They had been through a lot in 6 years, highs and lows, ebbs and flows yet they made it through the thick and thin. Their cross-country trip after high school had really taught them a lot about practicing patience, with each other, but also with themselves. The first few years of living in Seattle, the big city, on the other side of the country from home, away from friends and family had definitely taken it's toll early on, but the homesick feeling soon gave way to excitement and intrigue.

Jughead did love living in the city because unlike living in a small town, the city was upfront, and honest. No pretenses, no fronts, just raw life. It was loud, diverse, dirty and alive, and he felt mostly at home in it. Betty loved living in the city too, enjoying all the culture, convenience and option it provided, still, she missed the quiet. She missed sleepy towns like Riverdale. She missed camping and the stars, and up until 10 months ago, he promised her they would carve out a little slice of peaceful quiet, just for her, even if that took moving. Though leaving the home they built together would be hard, it could be done. They had hulled themselves up in it, entertained in it, relied on it for sanctuary, and they were proud of it. It was their home, the one they chose and built together, this drafty loft was the best place on the west coast, if not on the entire planet.

But 10 months ago, he hated it, and she missed it.

Change can be an unpredictable creature though because 10 months ago, he wouldn't have been caught dead in their bedroom area. 10 months ago, he was the closest he had ever been to rock bottom. He was a lost, half numb, vacant version of himself because 10 months ago, he was alone.


	2. True Love Waits

_I'm not living,_  
_I'm just killing time._  
_Your tiny hands,_  
_Your crazy kitten smile._  
_Just don't leave..._  
_Don't leave..._  
_True love waits,_  
_In haunted attics._

_~ Radiohead - True Love Waits ~_

~~~

As Jughead sat quietly with his coffee that morning he thought about their upcoming weekend together. Tomorrow was Betty's birthday, and she had strategically booked her holidays for the whole week of. He had done the same, mostly, though his job allowed him to work from home whenever he needed or wanted to. He had, however, requested to not be disturbed, for at least a few days. So today was day number 1 of 10 off, and he had more than a few plans for them throughout their rare vacation time together.

Tomorrow he had a distracting birthday in the city planned for her, filled with her favourite spots, food and fair. He aimed to keep her distracted all day while his crew of helpers took care of some surprise party set up in their apartment. Veronica, Archie, Kevin, Polly and JB were all either flying in later that day or were already in the city. Betty was completely unaware, but Jughead had spoken to all of them recently to confirm details. Today he knew Betty would want to stay in, and take advantage of a relaxing day off in bed.

He sipped at his coffee while keeping his eyes fixed on the skyline ahead, often struck with sheer awe of having been out here for almost 6 years already. Nearly 2 years ago now, the moment Betty graduated, she started work at The Stranger: a Seattle newspaper, as a journalist. As usual, she was amazing at it, having been promoted to lead within the first few short months. Jughead had also graduated but from the Art Institute, and just barely. It wasn't hard to get his diplomas in both Screenwriting and Film Production, but he performed just the bare minimum, much to his instructors displeasure.

'If you'd only apply yourself, Jones.'

Unfortunately, at the time, he hardly had the energy or desire to leave their apartment, let alone try, at anything.

Now he worked for a small up and coming underground film company called Elliot Ave Productions, writing and editing. He loved it and was also great at it, supervising teams within the first month of being hired. Betty was in her element too, but, soon after her promotion, her work started demanding more and more of her, and her time. There were more late nights on the field or in the office, more calls sent straight to voicemail, more unanswered texts and more excuses for tardiness or absences. Jughead was occupied a lot too, with his own schooling and work, though before he graduated, his job was not his career. Working at the comic book store was not a career, which Betty would remind him of frequently, whenever Jughead would press the issue of her work interference.

Their issues had been building since the start of her graduating year. The pressure was high, she had to be available for her schooling and work, had to be dedicated, had to be everything, but he also never had to rein her in before, he never had to pull her back to him. She had always been attentive, always willing, always perceptive. Their communication was always on point, verbal an alike. But somehow it got to a point where whenever he would voice his concerns or issues, she would immediately go on the defence, and he, in turn, would shut down in order to keep the peace with her.

During that time, just months into her promotion, the addition of Adam, a new journalist at work whom Betty had struck up a friendship with, had catapulted things from unsettled to unravelling.

It was the 4th night in a row that she had stayed late at work. 4 promises in a row that were made to him, and then promptly broken, that had finally broken him.

 

_~~~_  
_Jughead sat in his armchair in the window, listening to Radiohead when he heard her come up the stairs. She came through the door and greeted Pekoe warmly as she dropped her bags._

_"Hi," Betty spoke softly._

_He didn't answer, though she did sound tired and remorseful, it help didn't ease his temper._

_"-Are there any leftovers?" She asked from the kitchen._

_"Fridge."_

_He kept watching over the quiet neighbourhood as he waited for her next comment. What she said next would determine where and how he was going to start his prepared rant._

_"Jug, I already said I was sorry." She said absently as she gathered dinner leftovers._

_Jughead nodded, gaze still cast outside, "I feel like you're saying that a lot lately." He said stoically, still not moving from his seat._

_He listened to her shuffling in the kitchen stop abruptly as his words tumbled past his lips._

_"What?" She asked in a deadpan voice._

_"Apologizing. You're doing it a lot lately." He commented without pause, "-The word is starting to sound like semantic satiation."_

_Betty recoiled slightly and stared at him across their shared apartment. She waited for him to look up at her, but he didn't. So she shook her head, knowing him enough to know he wasn't done yet._

_"Why don't you just tell me why you're pissed," Betty said curtly._

_The comment boiled his blood immediately. Taking a deep breath Jughead stood and slowly crossed the living room towards the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow as he came to stand in front of her, their island separating them._

_"What are you apologizing for?" He asked._

_"I don't know! For being late?! For missing dinner?! I honestly don't know anymore, Jughead." She said as she threw her arms up, dropping them at her sides in defeat._

_Standing close to her now he saw that her hair was a mess, her outfit was stained, and her eyes were tired. But he didn't care. He needed to fight, he wanted to see some drive from her, some passion for them, an urge to communicate, even through turmoil._

_"So is that what we do now? Just blanket apologize to appease the other person?"_

_"No, I just, I don't want you to be upset, so I apologized." She said gently. "-What's going on?"_

_With a sigh Jughead braced himself on both hands against the island, leaning over and letting his head hang slightly. He took a few deliberate inhales and exhales, calming his nerves._

_"I feel like I never see you." He said quietly._

_"I'm here every night, Jug. I sleep next to you every single night. I come home to you." Betty argued._

_"You work on your iPad until I fall asleep. You come home and rush past me to get back to your work."_

_Betty was taken aback by the statement, it stung when he struck that nerve. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words evaded her. She didn't know why his confession hurt so much, maybe it was because the truth always hurt the most. But instead of agreeing, instead of lamenting and offering a sincere apology in that she needed to make time and room for them, she kept her hackles up and continued on the defence, simply because she was tired of always being the 'bad guy'._

_"This is my career, Jughead. This is what I've been working towards my whole life! You know this is what I've always dreamt of doing!"_

_"At what coast though?! I feel like I never see you anymore."_

_"I'm home every night." She implored again._

_"But you're not really here though." He said with a wry glint in his voice._

_Betty didn't say anything, too hurt to form a sentence that wasn't going to dig her hole deeper._

_"-The list of excuses for why you're barely here is a mile long fucking grocery list!" Jughead continued, clearly knowing exactly how he felt, letting his feelings pour from his mouth unabashed now, "-First school, then finals, then your internship, then it was graduation, then finding a job, then it was making a good impression, then your promotion, and now it's keeping your job, I can't keep up. I can't even compete."_

_Betty's eyes went wide, "Compete?!"_

_"Yea! I feel like I have to fight for your time." Jughead said, his tone harsh, "-And the small amounts of time we have together you either bail on, like the last 4 fucking nights in a row, Betty, or you're so distracted that you often don't even notice that I'm no longer laying next to you."_

_"I notice."_

_"Could have fooled me." He laughed darkly, "-When was the last time you reached for me in the night? Hmm? When were you so consumed by your need for me?"_

_"I'm...I've been so tired." She stuttered from his harsh comment._

_"Clearly."_

_"Is that what this is all about?!_ Your _need to get laid?" She sneered back now suddenly even more hurt._

_He let his head hang again before tossing her a disappointed head shake, "I just want my girlfriend back." He said honestly his head still hung low._

_They stood in silence, the buzz of the refrigerator and the ticking of the clock almost deafening, until Betty spoke up again, "Is this about Adam?"_

_Jughead's eyebrow and head raised at the name drop, and he looked her dead in the eye, "Is it?"_

_It wasn't really about him, specifically, just the role he played in distracting her. He was jealous of the time Adam got with Betty, but until this very moment, he didn't really think he had a worry in the world when it came to her doing something stupid, like cheating._

_"You tell me, Jughead?!"_

_"It's not about him. It's about you, and me, and the fact that I never see you,"_

_"I'm home every night!" She said once again._

_"We've established that you aren't '_ really _' here though," He replied almost sarcastically._

_"This is my career," She offered._

_"And I'm your boyfriend," Jughead shot back quickly._

_"And as my boyfriend, you should be supporting me!"_

_"I am!!" Jughead yelled before he steadied his emotions, "-But I feel like we're loosing each other,"_

_Betty's mouth dropped, she was standing at the threshold of their kitchen in disbelief of his last statement. She knew things were rocky, but she didn't think all was lost. Clearly, he did._

_She threw her arms up in surrender, "This is insane...I honestly can't with you right now." She confessed, her voice sounding panicked, "-You've obviously been brooding about this."_

_Jughead let out an almost menacing laugh while walking back towards the living room. But Betty stayed put, turning her body in his direction as he moved further away, both physically and unbeknownst to her, symbolically too._

_"This is my dream job, Jughead. It has to be hard at first." She said softly._

_"Why do we have to suffer for some fucking newspaper?"_

_"Because it's my passion!" She yelled, her voice cracking just slightly. "-God! I'm so fucking tried Jughead. I really can't do this right now." Betty complained as she ran her palms up her face and back down, taking calming breaths, "-I need to sleep."_

_"And I need to work this out,"_

_"You've been working it out all day long!!"_

_"This isn't something that's just happened overnight. Or something that 'just' today I'm upset about. This shit has been brewing,"_

_"Please, let's just talk tomorrow," Betty said in exhaustion her palms still raking over her face, "-Maybe I'll stay at Brigitte's tonight."_

_"Don't leave." He warned._

_"I don't want to argue."_

_"Just..stay..."_

_"No!" Betty yelled, "-No. Because you've been stewing all day and I've been working and I'm tired and I can't, so just stop."_

_"Don't leave," He repeated._

_"I don't have the energy, we'll talk once we've both calmed down," Betty offered weakly._

_"If you leave right now, don't come back," Jughead stated firmly._

_He meant it too. He wanted her to stay and fight for them. He wanted to fight and converse with her right then, to finally squash what had been plaguing and clawing at them, discuss whatever was ripping them apart._

_"What?!" Betty shouted, "-You can't be serious?!"_

_"Yes! I am fucking serious! Stay. Please. Let's hash this out like adults, right fucking now."_

_"I can't, Jughead."_

_"Are you serious?!"_

_"I just can't."_

_"Why?" He asked bluntly, but she reminded silent. "-Don't leave." He reiterated again, trying to cling as much need, and hurt and frustration to his words as he possibly could._

_"I'll call you tomorrow."_

_"I mean it, Elizabeth. Don't leave."_

_But she was already picking her bag up off the floor, and giving him a final disappointed look, before disappearing into the mudroom._

_He listened to her quickly descend the stairs, watched her run to hail a cab at their curb, and disappear into the night._

_'Fuck'_

_He went to bed without her that night, where he lay awake, tossing and turning until he finally gave up just before dawn. And so the insomnia cycle began anew._  
_~~~_

Jughead tried not to think of 'the great unrest' as they came to call it, but when he couldn't sleep, which seemed to be a lot lately, he always thought of why, and thus always thought about his too long stint without her. The altercation or 'great unrest' had definitely sparked the same brutal insomnia that riddled his youth, and now fully took hold of his adult life. But now her shuffling betwixt the sheets caught his attention and he looked on to see Betty stirring awake, blindly reaching her limbs into his vacant space next to her.

"Jug?" Betty mumbled with a yawn as she rolled over, stretching out dramatically into his empty side of their bed.

"Betts." He answered lowly with a smile, leaving his chair and abandoning his empty coffee mug in favour of the soft space next to her.

He crawled back into bed, spooning in against her bare back, with most of their sheets pushed away due to the summer heat.

"What time is it?"

His arms looped around her, "7 am" He mumbled into her nape.

"How long have you been up?" She asked, her voice still drowsy.

"A few hours."

"Baby..." Betty whispered sadly, pulling his embrace tighter around herself, pressing every possible inch of her skin against him.

He kissed her neck and shoulder tenderly, "It's fine, my love. Go back to sleep."

She did with only a slight sigh as an argument and soon her breathing fell back into a slow and steady rise and fall. 

They'd only been back together a couple months and needless to say, they had relapsed into a breathless honeymoon faze quite quickly. But he quelled his desire to ravage her and honed in on the lulling sound her sleeping, breathing her in. Her breath and scent were both relaxing and soothing and the combination pacifyed him back to sleep, albeit still a bit restless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :S
> 
> How are your feels?!
> 
> Let me know your thoughts, I'm here to talk you through any woe you may be feeling!


	3. LoveBuzz

_Would you believe me when I tell you..._  
_You are the queen of my heart._  
_Please don't deceive me when I hurt you..._  
_This ain't the way it seems._

_~ Nirvana - Love Buzz ~_

~~~

When Betty awoke again she was still cradled against Jughead, his long heavy limbs wrapped around her securely from behind. She sighed and nuzzled back, allowing his firm body to act as a blanket over her still naked frame.

She had been so tired lately, burning the candle at both ends while wrapping up all the loose odds at work before taking her long overdue vacation. She couldn't remember when they had a vacation where they weren't behind huddled and shuttled about.

Since moving to Seattle, they had been back to Riverdale and out to California a few times but hadn't had an opportunity to truly relax on any of their trips, because all those journeys were packed with people, sights and activities. Even their spontaneous trip to Vegas (to celebrate their 21st birthdays) ended up being an ambush, orchestrated by Veronica. So having a 'stay-cation', with nothing concrete planned, was a brand new concept to the both of them, and an idea that she relished in.

Sinking into Jughead's embrace she laid awake now, the warm sun pouring into their apartment. She was thankful for their strategically placed blackout blinds on the southern facing windows and their multiple fans because the light was blinding and the summer warmth permeating.

After the 'great unrest' she had worked hard to get her job and home life balance on point, and she was very successful. She had time for herself again, and time for Jughead, which, they were making the most of. They acted as carefree teenagers, spending their alone time in various states of undress, barely able to keep their hands off each other. Rightfully so she thought, she had basically been celibate, prior to them getting back together. Naturally, their physical connection had fallen back in step easily, whereas they had to slowly rebuild the rest their life together. They had to reacquaint their routine, all while reminding each other of their history, mutual support and common goals.

But soon they began to battered as they used to, trust like they used to and before she knew it they had fallen in love anew, or rather, fell in love further still. Whoever came up with the stupid cliché saying about 'distance making the heart grow fonder' however, said nothing of how your body could yearn so strongly for someone you've had so many times before. She felt ultra-sensitive to his touch now as if everything he did was exciting and brand new. That comfortable feeling of complete freedom and firm grounding filled her ever fibre, it flowed through her like a current, and charged her with a newfound passion and electricity.

Now as she laid next to him, listening to the rare sound of his deep, calm, and steady breathing behind her she felt reluctant to move. Though her desire for him licked at her and pooled deep in her belly she didn't like to wake him anymore. She felt ultra at fault for his insomnia, knowing without a doubt that it had started again the night of their break up, and had yet to let up since.

 

_~~~_  
_As soon as Betty's practical work heels hit the sidewalk on that moody midsummer night she regretted her decision to leave. But, anger at his brewing resentment propelled her to the curb, and embarrassment prompted her to hail a cab._

_She climbed in and mindlessly told the driver her friend's address. She then took her phone out to text Brigitte and let her know she was coming._

_Betty and Brigitte met her first week at UW, in their creative writing class. They had sat next to each other, and outgoing Brigitte introduced herself right away, complimenting Betty on her soft green cardigan and how it made her 'gorgeous eyes pop!'. They became fast friends and soon discovered they had a plethora in common, including (but not limited to) their taste in books, fashion, movies, music and men. Betty's voluptuous new friend took her under her wing and into her inner circle without a second thought, and introduced her to some amazing local people, including Brigitte's boyfriend Dexter; a tall, dark haired and green eyed fella that was covered in lean muscle and black and white tattoos._

_The pair had been together a number of years, having both grown up in and around the Seattle area. They met at a party and quickly discovered they already had many of the same groups of friends and had somehow just missed each other in passing. When they finally met, everyone reprimanded themselves for not setting to pair up sooner. But it all seemed to fall in to place none the less, no thanks to their friends. Dexter was a dear friend to her now too. He and Betty talked about childhood expectations of perfection at length, both having strict and overbearing parents. When Dex was 18 he broke free from his controlling family, and ran off to the 'big city' to become a rock star, and ended up as a bartender. With his industry of choice and newfound freedom, he went hard, diving into the party scene head first. However, meeting Brigitte had focused him in._ _Dex claimed that it was love at first sight, but Brigitte said he was too drunk to stand when she met him, let alone see. Still, she was intrigued by him, and Dex had enough cognitive sense to hand over his phone so that she could add her number. Once they started dating Dexter grew up within the span of a few short months, he put his Type-A upbringing to the test and bought a bar. Now, he was the successful owner of a popular establishment they would frequent and that Betty waitressed at for a brief amount of time, called The LoveBuzz._

_Jughead and Dexter had become became close friends too. Both were the avid movie buff and comic book nerd and shared a love for the grungy local rock that still held true to the city. Soon the 4 some were completely incapable._

_'I'm coming over, and I need to stay the night.' Betty sent to Brigitte as soon as her cab started to move._

_This was a very uncommon request from Betty alone, but one that she knew would never be turned down. When her friend replied quickly with 'Ok' Betty sank heavy into the backseat for the 20-minute ride to their place._

_'Is everything ok?' Brigitte messaged next._

_Betty looked blankly at the illuminated screen in her hand. No... Everything is not ok. But how could she take back the damage already done? She felt so foolish standing in front of Jughead, unable to communicate properly with him, put off by his anger. She heard him, even agreed with him. Why didn't she just say so? Why didn't she just apologize for her wrongdoing and resume a peaceful existence? Why did she leave? Her tolerance to turmoil was strong, she loved him, had never loved another, why couldn't she stay and fight?_

_Half dazed now, she soon found herself zoning out on the passing late-night traffic as she replayed the night's events, in detail, over and over in her mind._

_She could always feel the animosity that resonated from Jughead whenever she mentioned Adam, even in light passing. She knew her friendship with her coworker was an exposed nerve for Jughead, so bringing Adam up in their fight was epically wrong. She did assume, however, that his broody and sour mood was triggered by her writing cohort._

_When Adam started working at The Stranger it was clear that Betty's misogynistic boss was trying to groom him for a leadership position, even before he knew what Adam was fully capable of. He got leads before everyone else, was invited in on calls, or out for drinks with potential clients, sources and investors or just ushered into closed door 'meetings' to shoot the shit with their bosses, while Betty was asked to make coffee, place lunch orders and clean up the staff room in her 'spare' time._

_At first, Betty's friendship with Adam was a 'keep your friends close and your enemy's even closer' type of situation, but she found herself liking Adam as a person, and also found it hard to hate him simply because her boss was unwilling to join the 21st century._

_The other girls in the office swooned over the tall, strapping, blonde Adonis who was single, had played varsity sports and went to university on a football scholarship. He and Betty had a lot in common, each had a similar work ethic, writing style and sense of humour and they both got along great as coworkers. And at first glance, people might assume that the 2 would be well suited, the epitome of the blonde, all American, clean-cut sweethearts. But Betty never saw him in that light, she did, however, see him as a threat, as someone who could easily swoop in and take what she had worked so hard for._

_It really wasn't Adam's fault that Mr. Albert took advantage of her gender and kind demeanour, or that Adam was born with a dick and, therefore, didn't have to work as hard in order to achieve the same things that Betty had busted her ass for. He was nice and from what she could tell he didn't share their boss's opinions about old school gender roles, nor did he demonstrate behaviour that would link him to that sort of thinking._

_Jughead knew of her struggles, but she kept the severity and details of it under wraps. He was fiercely protective, and if he knew the sexism she had to deal with on the daily, he would have lost it, told her she deserved better (which she did) or would have encouraged her to quit and find work somewhere new. Add to the fact that Adam didn't do anything to help combat the male chauvinist undertones of their office life would have just layered more hatred into Jughead's distaste for Adam and the newspaper as a whole. But she was no quitter and this was her dream job, and for a reportable newspaper, no less. Her skin was thick and she would just have to soldier on. Which caused her to become completely and utterly invested in her work, taking every call, lead or prospect, jumping on every opportunity and every task offered in order to secure her spot as an integral part of the paper._

_Now, she wished she had been more forthcoming with the facts, then, maybe her fidelity wouldn't have been called into question. The fact that he didn't trust her with all his heart though, hurt the absolute most._

_A few minutes later the car arrived and Betty paid the cabbie. She walked up the few steps of her west coast friend's townhouse to their front door. Brigitte opened the door before Betty got the chance to knock, grasped her wrist and pulled her inside. She didn't say anything as she helped Betty shed her shoes and bag through her tears, nodding sympathetically without any words spoken. Brigitte guided her into their kitchen, where 3 glasses of wine were poured, one vastly more full than the rest. Dexter sat quietly and nodded towards the nearly full goblet in front of the blonde._

_Betty wiped her tears with a sniffle and brought the glass to her lips, taking a long slurp as she sat on the bar stool. She looked over her friends, she'd clearly interrupted their night time routine, catching them both relaxed and in their lounge clothes, the distant hum of the TV echoing from down the hall._

_"I'm sorry to barge in," Betty started, feeling her hot tears welling up again, "-I was...I just...I shouldn't have left,"_

_"What happened?" Brigitte asked gently, sitting down next to Dexter, across from their unsettled friend._

_Betty told her side of the story, while she polished off the rest of her glass and waved off Dexter's silent offer for a refill. At the end of her rant, she stood abruptly and started walking the length of their galley style kitchen, fuming now from the retelling of their fight. She felt so foolish, so misunderstood and so very wrong._

_"Call him. Jughead is reasonable, he'll hear you out," Brigitte reasoned, shaking her head in disbelief, her loose auburn waves swaying around her face as she spoke. "-Whatever else happened..."_

_"No, you don't understand, Bridge." Betty interrupted, ringing her fingers together as she paced. "-He gave me a chance to stay, multiple chances really, and I still walked." She groaned and covered her face with her hands, "-This is so bad. What the fuck is wrong with me?!"_

_"Nothing, we all make mistakes, B. I say; sleep on it. Let each other cool off, call him in the morning, like you said you would." Dexter offered from his perch at the island._

_"I don't think he's going to take my call," Betty said sadly._

_That would be the worst case scenario. She had basically done the one thing that could break them, something she had promised was never possible. Though it seemed small, a slight blunder that she could talk her way out of, or simply apologize for, the looming threat of someone leaving was deeply rooted in Jughead's insecurities. A trait she knew, a trait he made no attempt at covering up, and a trait he came by honestly. She knew it wouldn't be as simple as calling him up and apologizing. She knew she had made the choice to leave, knowing full well what that meant to him. And she knew, deep down, that she would undoubtedly suffer the consequences of that choice._

_Then again, the severe reaction to her choice had still yet to be discovered._

_"This can't be it, you guys are childhood sweethearts. It can't end like this," Brigitte reasoned, her hopeless romantic heart clearly pained under the distress of her friends, "-You'll figure it out,"_

_Betty stopped pacing and her eyes welled up and tears spilled over again. Suddenly it felt like someone was sitting on her chest and clutching her around the throat at the same time, leaving her feeling lightheaded._

_'How can I fix this? What if I can't?!'_

_"I'm going to lay down, guys. Thanks for letting me crash here," Betty said suddenly, "-I'll see_ _you guys tomorrow." She finished, turning on a dime and walking herself into the guest bedroom._

_Once inside she threw herself down on the bed for a long, ugly, hiccuping cry, one the inevitably drained her energy completely, because the next thing she knew, it was morning._

_She woke up still in her clothes and eagerly checked her phone. It was almost dead now, and her heart sank further when no new news or messages presented themselves. Still, as she showered she devised a plan: she was going to text him at breakfast, then go back home, spend the day together, and hash this whole thing out._

_But in reality, after breakfast and well into the late afternoon her messages and calls went unanswered, and by dinner time, Betty's worst fear was becoming a haunting reality._

_That evening just before 9 pm, unable to take the radio silence any longer, she went back to their shared home. She knocked, awkwardly, then let herself in at the street level. As she ascended the stairs to the mudroom, her eyes fixed on to a small scrap of paper that was clearly tacked to the outside of their front door, and as she came up to it she saw that it was from Jughead. He wasn't home._

_~ Take what you need. Leave the rest. ~_

_She stood silently, staring at the note, her throat tight, her mind trying to process, all while her nails curled into her palms, puncturing the skin for the first time in ages. And God...didn't the pain feel better than this. She flexed her fingers out a moment later, realizing that was a very slippery slope._

_She would just have to wait him out._

_He had to come home sometime, Pekoe needed to be fed after all. Their whole lives were here so she'd just camp out, and wait for him to return._

_However, he was gone all weekend._

_Late on Monday evening, when there was noise at the front door, Betty sprang up from her Netflix bingeing, her hopeful heart racing, only to find the across the street neighbour coming over to feed and water Pekoe. After trying to explain the confusion t _hrough_  a series of believable lies and thanking her for her time, Mrs.Baker scurried back home, leaving Betty and Pekoe alone, again. She realized then that Jughead planned to be away a for while, even though he had left nearly everything behind, including his phone charger, computer and clothes, but still, he had made some small arrangements to run away._

_By the following Friday afternoon, full-blown panic stated to kick in._

_'_ _Where could he have gone?'_

_She messaged his closest Seattle friends: Jeff, Samm and Jinx. Each of them fed her a similar story; '"I don't know? I think he's out of town?"_

_'Out of town?! Out of town where?'_

_She confirmed the same story with Dex and called Jughead's work next, his coworker Fletcher answered._

_"He asked the boss for a temporary leave of absence, and Gideon gave it to him. Jughead said he didn't know how long he'd need or why, but that he'd call us this week to let us know." He paused, surely wondering why she, Jughead's longtime girlfriend, didn't know where he was, "-You haven't seen him?"_

_"Not for a few days, it's a long story. Thanks, Fletch."_

_"No problem, Betty. I'll text you if I hear anything,"_

_"I appreciate it. Bye."_

_Next, she called Archie back in Riverdale, and after a short, worried conversation with him that generated no new information and only proved to worry her childhood friend to a similar degree that she was feeling, she called Veronica in New York City. After Ronnie perpetuated her worry by not knowing where Jug was and reaffirming her panic by repeating that 'this is so bad', Betty promised to call her bestie back with more of the story when she knew more herself. Her call to Kevin in Greendale was much of the same._

_Finally, she called JB, who was living in California now, having just moved there for school and to be closer to Jug. She was attending college on both an academic and music scholarship but also, being '8 hours away is far better than living across the fucking country', JB had said about her decision move._

_"Hey Betty," JB answered after an uncommon amount of multiple rings, her voice surrounding her greeting sounded...off. Really off._

_"Hey JB, how are things in Crescent City?" Betty asked, trying her best to sound happy and positive, though her gut told her this conversation was not going to be as productive as she had hoped._

_"Good," JB replied._

_"Enjoying the warmer weather so far?"_

_"Yup,"_

_There was a long pause, and Betty knew that Jug was there with her. She could feel the protective sister coming out in JB's voice and curt answers._

_"Is Jug with you?" Betty asked quietly._

_"Yup,"_

_Another long pause came next, followed by a deep sigh of temporary relief from the blonde._

_'At least I know where he is.'_

_"When will he be home?" Betty asked._

_"Not for a while," JB replied quickly._

_"Can I talk to him?"_

_JellyBean glazed over her question, "Did you get his note?"_

_"Yes,"_

_"Just make sure you lock up when you're finished then."_

_Betty's eyes widened at the comment, it rang like revibrating metal in her ears, sounding fake, forced and foreign. They were all so close and got along so well. They were family, this could not be how it was now. She felt sick, tears prickling behind her eyes again as she tried to swallow thickly._

_"Jelly, please. This is crazy. Can I just talk to him?" Betty begged in earnest._

_"It's JB. And no, he doesn't want to talk,"_

_"JB." She swiftly corrected herself, "-Please? Just to explain myself?"_

_"Jug says 'no' Betty," JB replied in a slightly softer tone._

_Tears rolled down her cheeks now, and she made no attempt to wipe them away or hide the hurt and anger in her voice._

_"Fine. Tell him that I'm not leaving," Betty replied stubbornly, "-Tell him I will be here when he gets home," She said next, unable to think of any other words while wading through the unbelievable hurt of it all._

_"Betty..." JB pled softly. Betty heard her cover the mouthpiece and say something to someone, presumably Jughead, in the background. Their muffled communication was inaudible and Betty grew more and more frustrated as the interaction continued. JB uncovered the mouthpiece again just to say, "-Please don't do this. You know how stubborn he is,"_

_"Save your pity, JellyBean. Tell him what I said."_

_JB sighed deeply, "I will. Take care, Betty."_

_"Right. You too." She replied, her voice cold and monotone._

_JB finished the call with a final: "Bye."_

_Betty didn't reply, she just hung up and threw her phone across the room, letting out a cathartic scream as she did so. The thin plastic smashed into a few pieces as it hit the brick wall behind their bed, startling poor Pekoe who was tucked in and sleeping. She_ _slumped onto the couch, her face falling into her hands, her breath leaving her lungs on a long laboured sigh. Feeling utterly defeated and completely alone, the weight of her leaving felt heavy and unbearable already._

_Still, she held true to her word. She camped out for another week in their shared loft, thinking that maybe, just maybe, when he came home they could talk. But well into the third week, there was still no sign of Jughead returning, and she was starting to think he had the apartment staked out, that someone might be telling him that she was still there waiting._

_Almost a month had passed before she did what he had asked of her._

_She took what she needed and left the rest._

_She left everything but her personals and her clothes. Everything they had bought, found, made or built together, stayed behind. All their pictures and memento and memories she reluctantly left in their places, knowing that taking them would only prolong her sadness. She even went as far as to leave their cat, fish and house plants with the home._

_She knew that Dexter and Jug would continue to talk, but she moved in with her friends anyway, unable to avoid their inner circle forever. When Jughead came back home, she would enviably see him, and then they'd talk, and everything would be ok._

_But months passed and now her sadness had turned to white-hot anger. In all that time she hadn't seen him, or even heard from him and the conversation she had with JB was the last conversation she had with any Jones. The only information their common friends divulged to her was that he was now back in town, and back at work._

_She tried not to think about him, focusing all her energy into her own work. She stayed away from their favourite restaurants, she kept to herself, opted out of social gatherings, and stayed away from every single one of their regular haunts. Because, when she did think about him she thought angry things. Ugly, hateful, spiteful things, some of which she wouldn't share with the world._

_Thoughts of how cowardly her former friend and lover was. That when life got too hard for him he just shut down, and ran away, just like his neglectful mother or just like he had after his 16th birthday. How dare he? How dare he abandon ship like this?! What a fool! Shunning her like they hadn't known each other their whole lives? Like they didn't know every single detail about one another? Like their history didn't run deeper than foolish pride?_

_Though, her own foolish pride would get the better of her later, when the following month, those same friends let it slip that Jughead was seeing someone new._  
_~~~_

 

...Meanwhile ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More layers revealed...
> 
> How are we feeling?
> 
> Still Team Juggie?


	4. Punch Drunk

_The city streets are dim..._  
_And my hands are tempted once again..._  
_To give in..._

_I'm having trouble seeing._  
_I'm punch drunk and I need to find a way back home._  
_It'd be a miracle if you'd oblige..._

_~ Incubus - Punch Drunk ~_

...Meanwhile...

_~~~_  
_Jughead wasn't sure when he made the decision to get into his truck and flee, but before he knew it he was leaving the bright city lights behind, heading south. Maybe he was overreacting, maybe she would come to her senses, or maybe there simply wasn't any room for him in her life anymore. Regardless, her actions spoke louder than her words and the moment she got into that cab, he left._

_His drive was an absent blur that, as terrifying as it was, he didn't really remember making. But again, before he knew it, he had crossed a couple state lines and was in California, parked in front of JellyBean's apartment building. With his last remaining battery life, he messaged JB just before 8 am, and poured himself onto her couch._

_By the end of his and Betty's argument, she looked like a wild animal that was being backed into a corner, panic starting to overtake her inquisitive features. He felt like he was forcing something on her, and that made him feel even worse. They had been so strained, so uncommunicative, and so off that he wasn't sure where to begin in mending them. He was willing, in the moment, he thought, even asked her to stay, would have begged her, but he never imagined that he would ever have to._

_He had told JB everything, let her in on every dark detail. And thought JB was the supportive sister he knew she would be, she didn't agree with the choices either party had made. But aside from voicing her opinion, and offering some sage advice in that he should turn right back around and go straight back home, she took care of him so that he could feel sorry for himself._

_A month later though, she'd had enough of his pity party, and frankly so had he._

_"Jug, I love you, but you've got to go home," JB said at breakfast one morning._

_"I know," He mumbled back._

_"You can't keep running away from her,"_

_"I'm not running," Jughead argued._

_"Hiding...Whatever. You've been moping around here for nearly a month."_

_"I know," He repeated._

_JB hated the phone call that she and Betty had shared, and told him as much. It was awkward, trying and completely out of character for Jelly to be so cold towards Betty. But again, she was being the supportive sister he needed at the time. Since then JB had been pushing for him to talk to her. Dropping daily hints until finally she blatantly told him he needed to step up and go back home._

_"How many times has she called?"_

_"A lot."_

_"Why not answer her?"_

_"And say what? That I was an idiot for telling her not to come back? Explain why I bailed? Say that I was too daft and stubborn to answer her calls?"_

_"Well...yea..." JB said simply._

_Jughead scoffed sadly, "It doesn't matter now, she stopped messaging me,"_

_"So?!" JB exclaimed, clearly annoyed with his brush off, "-You need to talk to her. You have both made mistakes. Just be honest, and go from there."_

_Jughead did agree, he just needed to grow a pair and call. He hadn't made contact yet, feeling like doing anything over the phone might be too impersonal, but he did read every text and listened to every message she sent to him. He tried to glaze over the fact that in every message she only apologized for leaving, and never for neglecting their relationship which was hard, and quite frankly, hurt, a lot. He wasn't completely sure what else he was waiting for her to say, but all the same, seeing any positive possibility of reconnection now seemed fairly impossible. He had spent the whole month rolling over every miss step, every mistake, every blunder he'd made almost obsessively. And if JB had not kicked him off her couch, he would have happily stayed in the circle of self-loathing indefinitely, knowing that running away from Betty had only made their situation much worse. But he was able to gain some perspective from his time away and needed to set things straight._

_This time he figured his actions could speak louder and decided to just show up at Dexter and Brigitte's house when he returned to Seattle, even if she had stopped messaging him. With this new determination to make things right, he was set on seeing her, ready to hash it out._

_~~~_

_Once back and settled in their familiar city, he pulled into his friend's neighbourhood just after 9 pm on a Friday. He parked a bit down the street, which wasn't uncommon, as Dexter and Brigitte lived near the downtown core, so parking was often a nightmare. While watching for his opportunity to cross the busy side street he instead caught sight of an unfamiliar car that pulled up in front of his friend's townhouse and double-parked._

_Jughead stopped dead in his tracks and watched Betty climb out of the passenger side, as Adam came around to unnecessarily get the car door for her. His stomach dropped, Betty was gracious and beautiful but he didn't dare move, watching carefully as the scene played out in front of him. He watched Adam guide her up to the front door with his hand perched on the small of her back and he cringed at the familiar touch. They exchanged a few pleasant words at the door, his laughter was deep and honest and her smile was small and soft across her beautiful lips._

_Betty then quickly stepped in and hugged Adam goodbye. The physicality seemed chaste, friendly and short enough, but Adam lingered closely and his hand came up to Betty's cheek, caressing it tenderly, like Jughead had done a million times before, making his skin crawl from the far too intimate act. He watched as she leaned into Adam's touch slightly, and instantly he felt his pulse and temper rise. His throat and fists clenched and he wasn't sure what he would do if they kissed._

_And then they did._

_Jughead willed himself to avert his eyes, but it was like a car wreck, and he couldn't look away. Somehow, self-preservation kicked in and finally, he dropped his gaze. When he pulled back up to the scene Betty was patting Adam lightly on the shoulder with another small, wary smile. She then turned for the door and Jughead stood, forcefully frozen, wanting desperately to run out and punch the blonde haired dick-head who was all too familiar with his Betty._

_His timing was everything, and the flow of time was always cruel, so he didn't stick around to see what else (if anything) happened. He didn't even watch the other man get back into his car and drive away, he just got back to his own vehicle and drove straight to The LoveBuzz._

_After that night he tried calling her, twice, and messaged her a few times after, but received no response. He wasn't surprised though, he didn't answer any of her messages either. He had messed up the one good, constant thing in his life because he ran, yet again. So what was he expecting?_

_Later, Jughead confined with Dex that Adam had been by quite a few times to take Betty out. But that she never talked about it with them and that it also never looked like a 'date.' She never made herself up for their outings, she was always home before 10 pm and that Adam had never come in, or lingered or stayed the night. Still, hurt and betrayal filled him and couldn't help but wonder if his fears of infidelity had been warranted, and wondered if this familiarity between Adam and Betty was indeed going on before their breakup too. He assumed that it had been and dread washed over him._

_Though, in hindsight, he shouldn't have assumed anything. Still, hindsight is always 20/20 and at the time logic and critical thinking were gone and all he could feel was building rage and jealousy. Both were emotional trails he hated within himself and he was eager to numb himself to all of it._

_Alcohol had always played a recurring role in Jughead's life, and he found that the character it portrayed in his adult life to be casual, social and not the worst. He and Betty both enjoyed their share of it without it becoming a fixture in their life, unlike it had for his father._

_But now, devastated that he'd pushed away his one and only person, and in a dire attempt to try and smother his disgust with himself, he followed in the footsteps of his father, drowning his sorrows. He poured himself into work, and when he wasn't working he was pouring himself a drink. For months drinking and closing down the bar with Dex and Toni was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind and moving away. Far, far away._

_Though he was always accustomed to a certain amount of unwanted female attention when he sat alone at the bar, there was something so different and forward about Trula Twyst that within the first few drinks they shared, she had him letting small bits of his guard down, and, for lack of a better explanation, had him giving in to her advances too. Convinced that he had fucked his whole life up and that Betty and Adam were indeed seeing each other he had slumped into an all-time low, the lowest of lows really. So Trula's attention felt nice. Being desired felt nice, physical contact felt nice, but most of all the distraction felt nice. She was the complete opposite of the blonde that occupied his thoughts, which made their bond a welcome divertissement._

_They'd meet at the bar, drink, play pool, she would flirt and he'd offer his witty banter back. Trula would try to kiss him, and sometimes he'd let her, though they were nothing like the body humming, mind-altering kisses he was used to with his lost love. The casual companions never went home together, always kept it mild and never shared a bed. But their coupling and the inevitable split was mutual. Their connection was casual, topical, intoxicated and utterly distracting, but all too soon it made him feel hollow._

_They lasted less than a month and that was all before he got Betty's harsh email, which spiralled him into a lower state of regret and self-disgust that left him adrift and feeling truly alone._

_~~~_

_The night of Dexter's birthday was the first time he had seen Betty in months. She stopped by the bar, and all the hairs on the back of his neck recognized the oddity. She had clearly come straight from work, but even in her bulky winter coat, he recognized her instantly, from the wisps of blonde spilling out from under her hood to her long lithe legs tucked into smart boots for the weather. She walked in and he noticed her determined steps, and that she was doing her best to keep her eyes on her destination alone; Dexter and Brigitte at the bar._

_Jughead watched her from over his pint glass as Betty lowered her hood and spoke to his friends; her gestures gentle, her expressions apologetic, her beauty staggering. He watched her speak to only them and at the end of their brief conversation she hugged them both and left parting kisses on both their cheeks. She then pulled her hood back up and made her way back to the door, her eyes cast to the floor until she pushed through the heavy tavern doors and out into the cold wet night. Then, like a creepy stalker, he watched her through the street-facing windows, wondering if she'd turn back. She didn't._

_Downing the rest of his beer he waved over their regular waitress, Toni, a small, pink-haired, spitfire that Jughead and Betty both knew since Dex had opened the place._

_"Did I just see Betty?" She asked as she came over and took Jughead's empty glass._

_"I think so,"_

_"Still giving her the cold shoulder?" She asked lightly, poking the bear just a little bit._

_They were all friends there and comfortable enough with each other that he knew that her banter was only friendly. The wait staff at the pub were relentless, constantly asking him 'what the fuck' they were doing. Why did he slum it with a beast when he could have been with beautiful Betty? Why was a couple who had always given those single girls hope no longer together?_

_Questions that Jughead never had any answers to._

_"It's not just me," He offered solemnly._

_"Still. Why?"_

_Again, he didn't really know, so tonight he just shot Toni a glare of warning and nodded for another beer. "Because I fucked it all up," He mumbled back._

_Shaking her head Toni smirked and gave him an exasperated look, before disappearing to fetch his drink. "Then do something about it, Jones." She called out to him over her shoulder. Jughead simply rolled his eyes at her in reply._

_He stayed at the pub, mildly socializing for another few beers before he couldn't take the thoughts of Betty swimming around in his hazy head any longer. He had to see her, had to be near her, had to do something. How he'd gone this long without her was a mystery he didn't want to solve. The only mystery he wanted any part in now had to do with unravelling this whole hot mess and how to fix it._

_He tracked down Dex, wished him a happy birthday and made up some bullshit excuse for why he couldn't stay and close the place down with him. Drunk Dexter lamented quickly as another partygoer bought a round for the crew. Jughead took the distracting opportunity to sneak past Brigitte, knowing she would either see right through his lies or warn Betty that he had left the party. Her loyalty was strong, so likely both._

_~~~_

_There was a heavy knock at the front door and Betty happily rushed to answer it, expecting a pimple covered delivery boy with her embarrassingly large about of tandoori chicken and naan. Instead, through the peephole she saw Jughead, his long arms braced on either side of the door frame, his lean figure swaying slightly in between, his head hung low._

_She froze, completely unprepared, her breath trapped in her lungs. She hadn't spoken to him since she left almost 6 months ago and it had been just as long since she'd seen him. She had stopped reaching out, hurt, angry and tired of the letdown. He had called, maybe once or twice, definitely not to the extent that she had, but, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to answer._

_From the beginning she had avoided everywhere they used to go together, including (and especially) The LoveBuzz. She tried to distance herself from their once shared life as much as possible and then...then she found out about the 'other' woman._

_She was furious, crushed and disappointed and after writing him a seething email, the details of which she had forgotten in her fit of rage, she tried to forget about him. Tried, being the operative word. She didn't remember every hurtful thing that she said in the email, but she knew it started with 'You make me sick.' and ended with 'Don't contact me.' The spiteful words in between were lost._

_So now, because of his tryst and that he had undoubtedly seen her email, she didn't want to see him. More importantly, she didn't want to see him with 'her', ever. She had hoped to get to her friends at the pub unnoticed, as she was sure that Jughead would be at the party that night, maybe even with his new 'friend'. She was only there for a few minutes, and thought that her winter garb would have covered her enough to go unrecognized, but apparently not._

_More knocking broke Betty out of her panicked thoughts, and as the knocking intensified it was swiftly accompanied with Jughead yelling, "Betty!"_

_She tried to ignore him, standing like a statue at the door, but he persisted, "-I heard you in there," He muttered._

_She pressed her palms and forehead gently to the door, holding back a sob. This couldn't be happening right now. She looked down at her PJs and slippers and groaned. She didn't want to see him out in public, and she sure as shit didn't want to see him now._

_"-I know you're in there, Dex told me you would be home," Jughead lied. "-Besides, I saw you run for the door," He added softly._

_Betty cursed her take out eagerness, and her housemate's window heavy entryway and her shitty battery life, leaving her cell phone dead for most of the day. A fact that forced her to stop by the bar to 'show face', but also left her with no warning of Jughead's impending ambush, that Bridge had likely sent out to her._

_Jughead knocked harder this time and the pounding of hia fists matched the pounding of her frantic heartbeat. But somehow, despite her heartache, something inside her moved her body forward to open the door. With most of his weight and balance propped up on the doorframe, he nearly spilled into the foyer when she cracked the door, but he caught himself and pulled his posture straight before leaning on the doorframe for support again._

_Silently trying to calm her erratic pulse, she schooled her expressions and emotions and held the door open just enough for her body to block the entrance, as she waited for him to speak._

_"Hey," He said lowly._

_"Hi," Betty replied._

_She glazed over his appearance. He looked...off. Beautiful, as always, but off all the same. He had always been tragically predictable in his fashion choices and today was no exception to that rule; heavy boots, dark jeans and his thick red plaid jacket. He was wearing a soft gray woollen scarf too and as her eyes migrated up (and dutifully past his face) she watched as his fingers tugged his beanie off, before twisting the tight gray threads in between his nervous fingers, while leaving his dark locks wild._

_"I saw you at the bar," He offered._

_"I couldn't stay,"_

_"Plans?"_

_Betty didn't answer, she just stared at him, trying to quell her attraction. She swallowed thickly because her body didn't understand that her heart was still broken and that all too familiar pull started to tug at her, magnetic and dizzying._

_"Can I come in?" Jughead asked hopefully, a boyish glimmer to his eyes._

_"No." She blurted out, looking him dead in the eye for the briefest of moments._

_"No?" He challenged in surprise._

_Betty dropped her gaze but stood firm, "No,"_

_"Please?"_

_"You're drunk,"_

_He shrugged, "Only a little,"_

_Betty scoffed locking her gaze onto his, "Drunk ex-boyfriend shows up at his ex-girlfriend's house, unannounced, after ignoring her for months, and expects to be welcomed in with open arms," She said sarcastically._

_He smirked at her tenacity and watched her beautiful green eyes take on an angrier hue as she spoke, captivating him even further. Because didn't she look just as beautiful angry, as she did breathless, the flush in her cheeks surging heat right through to the tips of his toes._

_"Please? Just to talk," He suggested, ducking his head down as his fingers gently reached out for hers._

_But Betty slowly pulled her hand away, "I don't think your new girlfriend would like that,"_

_Jughead frowned, "She isn't my...We aren't...I don't care about her," He stuttered shaking his head._

_Of course, Jughead knew that she knew about Trula. Their circle was tight, and bad news travelled the fastest. News reached her quickly, and her bite back was just as swift. But, judging by Betty's reaction, he assumed that word of his and Trula's 'demise' had yet to reach the blonde, and he was eager to explain it all to her._

_"You're with her," Betty stated with an air of disbelief wavering in her voice._

_"I'm not...It's not what you think. I mean, I'm just...I miss you..." Jughead reasoned, "-Can I please come in?"_

_"I don't think it's a good idea,"_

_"Please Betts," He begged._

_Betty melted slightly at the name, and at the tone, and at just him being there, but she stood firm. Hurt and firm, "I can't,"_

_"Please." He groaned, his eyes fixed down now._

_"No," Betty said again, her brave face was wearing dangerously thin. She couldn't let him in, not after putting herself out there again and again and again just to be ignored by him. Not after he chose someone else over her. No, as petty as it might have been, she wanted him to hurt. She wanted him to know what it felt like to still love someone and not be able to talk to them._

_So she thought quickly, not fully, but quickly, and lied: "-I'm not alone."_

_"What?" Jughead spat, his temper mounting instantly as his gaze snapped up to meet hers again, "-Who's with you?"_

_Betty stood silent, her heart pounding in her ears. The look in his eyes almost made her take it all back, almost made her say she was lying, almost made her let him back in, almost made her throw herself into his arms, but Jughead interrupted her with his hypothesis, squashing her moment of weakness._

_"It's Adam, isn't it?" He said with a scowl._

_"None of your business." She spat back, recoiling at his building rage._

_Jughead looked over her casual appearance, taking in her loungewear, her lack of makeup, her untamed hair catching in the soft glow of the living room that flooded into the dark hall behind her._

_"That lucky bastard gets low key Betty?" He scoffed._

_"You forfeited the right to be jealous when you ghosted on me. Even more so when you started dating someone else." She informed him, pointing at his chest._

_Jughead went to open his mouth but, awkwardly, Betty's take out arrived. He stepped aside so the poor delivery kid could take her money, hand off a large amount of food and quickly scamper away._

_"-I'm moving on, Forsythe. Just like you," She lied fluidly._

_"Betty..."_

_"You should go," Betty assured with her arms now full of food._

_Stunned, Jughead backed away from the door and allowed her to push it closed. He stood for what felt like ages, willing himself to knock again, but he couldn't._

_He'd missed his chance, well, he had missed all the chances. She had extended out the olive branch far before he slummed it with Trula. But then, then that email...As soon as he read it he deleted it, incapable of chocking down the hard and hurt words a second time. And really, what did he think was going to happen? That he could just vanish? Find temporary comfort in the arms of another without any consequences? That he could just walk back into Betty's life whenever he wanted? That his actions wouldn't have hurt her as much as hers had hurt him? As though he could just hop back into his spot next to her whenever he wanted without any resistance?_

_~~~_

_The next morning Jughead woke up in their once shared bed, alone, with a throbbing headache and a vague memory of seeing Betty. The fuzziness from the night before slowly cleared and the memories of their exchange filled him with anger and embarrassment, not at her so much as at himself._

_But despite the hangover he had, he spent the day taking down all the pictures of the two of them and stripped the bed of its linens, vowing to sell the fucking thing before he slept another night alone in it, convinced that Betty was completely and truly done with him._

_Seeing her that gloomy winter night at the LoveBuzz was his do or die moment. And after the failed conversation he was sure that Betty was with someone else. Later that week he gave his notice at work and (with the suggestion from Archie and despite JB's displeasure) had planned on moving back to New York for a while._

_Instead, a few months later, while in the planning stages of his move, Betty showed up on his doorstep in the rain._  
_~~~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First: Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Second: Thank you to those who commented on the last chapter and a special thanks to those of you who promptly talked me off the edge. Sorry that I'm such a stereotypical emotional artist... :S
> 
> Third: Thank you for giving this all a chance. 
> 
> My last chapter broke a lot of hearts, and I am truly sorry.  
> I didn't know the impact these characters could have, and didn't realize that I could evoke such strong emotions through my writing. That realization was humbling, inspiring and kinda scary.
> 
> I hope this chapter shines a bit more light on this story and gets into the layers of shit that broke these babies up, though I do know it's not quite enough to quell your sadness. 
> 
> But just one more flashback chapter to go and you'll have all the puzzle pieces...  
> Then you can love or hate me properly ;)


	5. Long & Lost

_I need the clouds to cover me..._  
_Pull in the dark, surround me..._  
_Without your love, I'll be..._  
_So long and lost, are you missing me?_

_Is it too late to come on home?_  
_Are all those bridges now old stone?_  
_Is it too late to come on home?_  
_Can the city forgive?_  
_I hear its sad song..._

_~ Florence + the Machine - Long & Lost ~_

~~~

Betty laid awake, still nestled into Jughead's body. She wrapped her arms around his again and pulled him in while pushing her ass against his lap, sinking further into his clutches. He mumbled back and shifted slowly against her in reply, holding her tight to himself while still fixed fast asleep.

As Betty basked in this lazy, mid-morning euphoria her thoughts were still amerced in the details of their past few months together. She had made good on her promises since ambushing him in the rain all those months ago. She had moved back home and had him back in their bed within a few hours. And though some might say it was all a tad quick, for them, with all their history, and pent-up need to communicate both physically and verbally, it worked.

Nothing had really changed between them, but in a word, everything had. Through completely open communication they soon found a rhythm that helped them heal, while spending solid, quality time together.

Jughead had made promises of his own and had spent the majority of his spare energy putting action behind them. But he was wrestling with his own guilt, and getting him to talk about and let go of said guilt took time. She had forgiven him, and he had accepted her forgiveness, but forgiving himself proved to be much more difficult.

She understood that they had to work on his ability to voice his grievances. She knew that she had unconsciously muted an already quiet man. Though he trusted her, she now had to prove that she heard him, and assure that he never needed to censor himself with her.

It wasn't as though they hopped back into their relationship unaltered, but the conversation they shared on that stormy afternoon months ago had reconnected their misfiring communication and hadn't wavered since.

 

_~~~_  
_Betty and Veronica spent a rainy Spring day at their favourite cafe on the covered patio, drinking coffee and eating far too decadent pastries._

_Veronica and Archie were in town for one more day, and the girls were spending every minute they possibly could together. Because neither of them was sure when they would get another opportunity like this since life was busy, and living the other side of the country from each other only exasperated that._

_They had fallen into a comfortable silence while enjoying each other's company, Veronica sipped at her coffee while Betty's attention was occupied on the rain. She watched as the sprouts of spring took the torrid rainfall, admiring the heavy clouds that covered the skyline, and breathing in the smell of dirt and growth that permeating the city air._

_"B, can I ask you something?" Veronica asked suddenly, pulling Betty from her daydream._

_"Sure," She replied._

_"What are you guys doing?" Veronica asked bluntly._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You and Jug. What are you doing?"_

_Betty knew that Veronica had seen Jughead and she was sure that was who Archie was with right now. But she didn't ask about him anymore, because she didn't need to be reminded that she was no longer a part of his life._

_"We're broken up." Betty sighed._

_"Why?"_

_"I don't really know why anymore." She confessed with a sad shrug._

_Like Jughead she knew she had also screwed up far too many times to even entertain the thought of there ever being a rekindling of any sort. Besides that, 'one woman Jughead' was interested in someone else, a thought she tried not to have too often as it filled her with a sickly anger that she didn't know how to process. She couldn't stand the thought of him with someone else, no matter how many times Dexter told her that Jughead wasn't 'with' Trula like she thought._

_All that aside she still missed him so desperately it hurt._

_"This is ridicules," Veronica said in a huff leaning back into her chair._

_"He's dating Tulip, or whatever. He's moved on."_

_Veronica rolled her eyes, "Check your facts, B. That was months ago, and you know just as well as anyone that wasn't anything serious. You are his person, Betty. His one and only. And he's yours."_

_"I rejected him. Twice..." Betty grumbled._

_"You're both miserable."_

_Betty's interest perked immediately, "He's miserable?" She asked._

_"Devastated. Lost. Adrift. Take your pick."_

_Her heart clenched as her eyes twinkled. As long as he felt as she did, she could cope. The last thing she wanted was for him to have truly moved on or to be 'ok'._

_"-Don't kid yourself, B. You don't look much better." Veronica scolded, noticing the glimmer in Betty's eyes._

_"I'm really not."_

_"Do you know that he's moving?"_

_"What?! Where?"_

_"Archie tried to convince him to move back to Riverdale. Naturally, Jughead refused. But he did ask to crash on my couch while he looks for a place in the city."_

_Betty's stomach flipped as panic washed over her, "I didn't know..."_

_"Stop torturing yourself. There isn't anyone he wants more than you. If that boy is too stubborn to answer you, just show up and don't back down until you get what you came for." Veronica said, her voice becoming more pointed as she continued, "-You go and you fight for him."_

_Betty groaned, pouring her face into her hands. "I should have never left,"_

_"Should've, would've, could've, B." Veronica dismissed, "-Now it's time to fix it. Action, not excuses. Go tell him everything you've been dwelling on since you saw him last. I would have told Jughead the same, but that's Archie's department."_

_'Fuck.'_

_Betty thought about their situation at length for the first time in months, after having tried to bury it all, multiple times._

_Had he overreacted? Probably._  
_Had he bottled things up for too long before exploding? Yes._  
_Did she need to work on her listening skills? Yes._  
_Had she neglected him? Yes._  
_Had she taken his loyalty for granted? Yes._  
_Had she lied? Yes._  
_Had they both held a grudge for too long? Yes._  
_Had she been a fool to turn him away? Yes._  
_Was she sorry? God...Yes._

_But she left, and then shunned him when he tried to mend their break months later, she had shut him out, why wouldn't he do the same to her? It was almost his prerogative to do so. Sure, a lesser woman would simply claim to be giving him a taste of his own medicine, but Betty wasn't about that. Though her little white lie about not being alone on that fateful winter night had worked and had kept her sane for a moment, she still wished she hadn't lied._

_So now, what else did she have left to lose?_

_That night, after bidding Veronica goodbye she managed to gather enough courage to see him. The following morning, despite the rain, she got ready and took a cab to their once shared apartment._

_~~~_

_Her timing was nearly serendipitous, because no sooner did she step up to his door to knock, did Jughead himself come round the side of the building to stop in front of her._

_"Hi," Betty said as he approached their apparent's entry._

_Jughead hadn't seen her, his attention was occupied on finding his keys as she spoke, and he stopped just short of the step she was standing on. She cleared her throat, though the rain on her jacket and his small umbrella drowned her voice out. So she ducked her head down and caught his gaze, with a slight wave._

_His posture changed, and suddenly he was taller, towering, really. He blatantly looked her up and down, his face unchanged from the look of annoyance at his misplaced keys, that it held moments ago._

_"Hi?" Jughead said wearily._

_"Forgot your keys?" She asked as she studied his features._

_He looked tired, the bags under his eyes more prominent then the last time she'd seen him. His blue eyes held more sadness and sorrow than ever before as well and her heart retched with guilt because that was her doing._

_"No." He lied quickly, still frantically stuffing his hands in and out of all his pockets. "-Yes." He relented quietly._

_"I still have my copy." She offered._

_The comment seemed to unsettle him, and his movements froze instantly. Then he fruitlessly continued to look for his keys, but he knew, he had straight up forgotten them, left them on the kitchen counter, is his haste to beat the rain._

_"What are you doing here?" He asked sternly, giving up on the futile search for his keys._

_Jughead tried to bypass her offer and he kept his posture straight, for fear of showing how truly useless he had become without her. But the sight of her flipped his stomach and rattled him. She churned up feelings he'd spent the better part of a year trying to burry, smother and drown, causing him to grumbled internally._

_He had just come from breakfast with Archie. Veronica had joined them for a quick coffee before going back to the hotel to pack. Inherently, he and Archie had talked about Betty. And as he stood in front of the beautiful blonde now, all he could do was recall his earlier conversation with his redheaded friend:_

**_"She's dating Adam," Jughead had complained to his childhood friend over pancakes and bacon._ **

**_"She made no mention of that," Archie rebuffed._ **

**_"The last time a saw her she was," Jughead replied, doing his best not to sound like a scolded child._ **

**_"When was that?"_ **

**_"5 or 6 months ago?"_ **

**_"And you haven't checked in on her since?"_ **

**_He hung his head in shame and swallowed thickly, "No,"_ **

**_"Jesus..."_ **

**_Jughead groaned while raking his hands over his face, "What the fuck is wrong with me?" He asked._ **

**_"I don't know, a lot," Archie replied honestly._ **

**_Jughead had huffed out in a half-hearted laugh, "Wow,"_ **

**_"Hey man, you deserve that and some much more for bailing on her like you did " Archie confessed._ **

**_"I know."_ **

**_"You hurt her, big time."_ **

**_Jughead sighed, "I was just...I was scared to lose her,"_ **

**_"So you pushed her away so she couldn't run,"_ **

**_"Fucked, right?"_ **

**_"Very. But I still think you should try to mend things. This is Betty we're talking about."_ **

**_Jughead nodded, he knew Archie was right. But it had been so long now, and he had been so consumed by his mistakes and had convinced himself she was better off without his weighted down emotional baggage anyway._ **

**_"I know you're right,"_ **

**_"So, get after it then," Archie instructed._ **

**_Dejected but also strangely motivated Jughead sighed deeply, as Archie chuckled, "-How is it that I'm giving you relationship advice?" He had asked his solemn friend in disbelief._ **

_Deep in his thoughts, Jughead now wondered, if Betty felt half as bad as he did, what gave her the courage to show up today? And why couldn't he muster up any of his own to approach her first?_

_Truth was, Betty felt like a ship adrift. Navigating a sea of unrest in troubled waters without a compass, and taking on water, fast. The night of their breakup and every single one since was a displeasing, dreaded darkness, one that was all too familiar to her now. And after seeing Archie and Veronica happy and in love, despite their distance, Betty's lost feelings of loneliness had thrust her into a new mission._

_Get. Jughead. Back. By any means necessary._

_Ambushing him that rainy spring day, in front of the home they once shared, was just the first step towards making amends with her lifelong companion._

_She knew she had hurt him, in a way she promised she would never. But as the months past her sadness morphed into anger and then the guilt mixed with jealousy kept her in a low state of depression. Her state of mind had left her feeling as though she didn't deserve his once unconditional love anyway._

_"I wanted to see if we could talk?" Betty asked, but really she was pleading._

_Shocked at her brazen ambush, somehow a sarcastic smirk still managed to pull at his lips, "Like last time?" He scoffed without thought._

_Betty winced, "Hopefully more productive."_

_"Who's fault was that?" He asked her bluntly._

_"Mine." She said back quietly._

_He scoffed again but softer this time as he appeared to think the idea over, at length. The rain continued to pour, and he sighed. He was clearly tired, and his grocery bags looked heavy, and he seemed as though he didn't want to deal with any of it._

_"Alright."_

_Betty quickly fished her keys from her purse and unlocked the front door, he went in first and they climbed up the long, narrow flight of stairs in total silence._

_This was the first time in almost 10 months that she'd been back inside these walls, and her guts clenched in a panic because, after today, she may never get another opportunity to step foot in their fortress, this fortress, his fortress, again._

_They stopped in the mudroom where he took his outdoor gear off, his wet beanie and socks too. He stopped before letting himself into the apartment, giving her a quick, unsure, side glance before stepping through the threshold._

_She took off and hung her jacket, slipping it onto the hook she always used to use, and she ditched her rubber boots and purse too. She then stepped back to appraise the habitual act. Her guts started to churn again, but she curled her fingers nails into the flesh of her palms painfully. This nasty little tick reared its ugly head again for the first time since high school the night of their break up, and the habitual coping mechanism was now a full-blown un-healing habit. She took a few calming breaths all while silently talking herself out of a small panic attack._

_'Calm down Cooper, the worst he can do is kick you out...again.'_

_She checked her reflection briefly in the foggy mud room mirror, the rain and her hood had made a right mess of her hair, but, all in all, she looked ok. Tired, lost and sad, but ok. She smoothed her hair and pulled it back over her shoulders again before following him into their once shared space._

_It was all set up the same, it felt warm and very familiar but also so tragically different. It smelled more like him, an intoxicating combination of nature, coffee and paper. It was messier than it was when they lived together too, more scattered, more disarray. She saw a few empty boxes waiting to be packed and it looked as though he had been sleeping on the couch too, their once shared king size bed now stripped of its sheets, riddled with books, mail and laundry instead. She frowned at the thought, though strangely, it warmed her heart too._

_Pekoe greeted her instantly upon entering the dreary space, coiling herself between Betty's legs as she stepped into the common area. She scooped up the small orange orb and pressed her face into her fur with a smile. With a mew of protest, the cat squirmed free, her normal reaction from being held, by anyone._

_She looked up from the feline to see Jughead in the kitchen, having just hit brew on the coffee pot. He finished putting away his groceries and took 2 mugs out of the cupboard along with the milk from the fridge. She had to bite at her cheek as she longingly watched him move around their, or rather, his kitchen._

_She missed the simple things about their life together, but she missed his companionship the most. If she was being honest though, she missed every single thing about him, from the simple things to the complex and everything in between. This time apart was the longest of her life, and it felt it too. 10 months felt like 10 years, and just surviving was not cutting it any longer. Watching him make coffee took her back. It reminded her of the decades of history they held together. Her heart melted at the fact that he still remembered how she took her coffee, because, of course he did._

_When he had gathered what he set out to, he left the kitchen, walking towards her, with a confident but silent purpose. Betty's heart pounded in her ears as he approached, every fibre for her being was screaming for her to catch him, to pull him close and never let him go again. But his bearing indicated that it would be unwelcome, so she withheld the urge._

_"So, what did you come here to say?" He asked as he blew past her to plop down on the couch, all while watching her expectantly._

_His demeanour was defensive, and for whatever reason, she hadn't really expected that. Mainly because that's not him. That's not how he had ever been with her, and it threw her off. But she tried to gather herself as quickly as possible, while she stood in the middle of the large living room. She took a step forward, and he crossed his arms over his chest in return, a seemingly forced smirk tugging at his lips again. Her gaze dropped to the floor, and her fists clenched in again. She tried to swallow, but the lump in her throat was so painful, that she gave up and tried to clear her voice with a small cough._

_"I miss you." She said in quiet confidence._

_She didn't look up, but she could feel his icy stare on her. Her hands clenched in harder puncturing the skin, before she lifted her gaze to his, finding him staring at her, expressionless._

_"That's what you braved the weather to say?" Jughead asked._

_"Yes," Betty said, trying desperately to hide the hurt his tone caused her._

_She could feel her eyes welling up with tears, and she didn't know where this is going, but so far it seemed to not be going well._

_"What happened to: 'I'm moving on, Forsythe. Just like you are.' ?"_

_"I didn't." She said the syllables so quickly that it sounded like one word. She took a few stabilizing breaths, her gaze dropping to the floor again before she pulled back up to look at him._

_"You didn't move on?"_

_"No. I lied." She replied quickly._

_"You lied?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow._

_"I did."_

_"So, you and Adam?"_

_"There never was a 'me and Adam'." She said hastily._

_"You aren't seeing him?"_

_"No, I never was."_

_"But, I saw you 2 together,"_

_"We were never together,"_

_"You kissed,"_

_Her mouth dropped, along with her heart, "You saw that?"_

_"Yea," Jughead grumbled._

_"So you also saw me push him away?"_

_"I saw you close, cozy and kissing. That was enough for me." He mumbled._

_But Jughead knew he couldn't hold a kiss against her, he and Trula shared a few. Still, his jealousy unnerved him and made him feel like a monster._

_Betty shook her head, "I can't move on." She continued, with those words spoken slightly slower. "-I don't want to see anyone else." She finally confessed._

_"Why?"_

_"Why?" Betty asked quietly._

_"Yes, why? Why didn't you move on?"_

_She let out a ragged sigh, "Come on, Jughead. It doesn't need to be like this."_

_"Yes, it does, Betty. I need you to say it." He said plainly, as he sat forward and braced his elbows on his knees, his body hunched over his clenched together fists,"-I asked you to take me in, literally begged and you shut the door on me. So yea, I kinda need you to say it."_

_"You were drunk."_

_"Doesn't change the fact that I was there, asking you, begging you to take me in and you slammed the door in my face."_

_"Don't be petty."_

_"Petty?!" He nearly yelled back at her, before he took a deep, broken, but stabilizing breath. "-Petty is holding a rumour over someone's head for no good reason, other than a bruised ego." He spoke sternly._

_"You dated her, Jughead."_

_"No, I didn't. We hung out, flirted, made-out and nothing more. It didn't even last a month!" He said, his eyes holding hers, stormy blue fixed on adrift green._

_"We had barely broken up." She said quietly._

_"Almost 3 months, Betty." He offered back, the hurt in her tone still managing to break his heart, all over again._

_"Exactly, barely."_

_"When I came home after my month in California, I saw you and Adam together outside your place. What would you have me do? Did you want me to just wallow I my own self-pity until you changed your mind? Or hang around until you realized what you'd done?" He asked, suddenly angry that she was turning this around on him, and making him feel even more guilty._

_"What I'd done?!" Betty felt her own temper mounting now, her cheeks burning and her eyes prickling with a fresh batch of tears, "-You broke up with me Jughead, you ran, you kicked me out, not the other way around."_

_"I gave you a choice. You chose wrong." He said, gesturing to her pointedly._

_"I tried to apologize and you ignored me!"_

_Jughead's gaze dropped to the floor in front of them now, his jaw clenched, chest heaving from every emotion under the sun. A mix of dread, anger, hope and longing filled him and clouded his mind. He scrubbed his hands over his face with a heavy sigh._

_"I did."_

_"The newspaper is important to me, how could I just give that up?"_

_"You only heard what you wanted to hear, Betty. I didn't want you to give it up. I asked you to care, to make time. I asked you to try. And you stepped out." Jughead didn't look at her again, for fear of losing it, but he continued, "-And even still, I came crawling back to you. But you shut me out. So, again, forgive me if I'm not so quick to jump back in blind."_

_His words stung and tears rolled down her cheeks, which she quickly wiped away. She was not going to give up that easily, she had shut him out, her stupid foolish pride got in the way of a possible reunion months ago. She was so angry when someone accidentally let it slip that Jughead was seeing Trula, and when he had shown up at their mutual friend's house, all but begging her to take him in, she did shut him down, rudely and abruptly while lying through her teeth, just to hurt him._

_"I waited for you after our split..."_

_"I know you did,"_

_"I wanted to work things out but you ran away"_

_"I couldn't stay here," Jughead confessed sweeping his arm to gesture around their apartment._

_As she glanced over the space, she noticed that all their pictures together were gone, and almost everything that could remind him of her was missing._

_"I called and I messaged."_

_"It was too late, you had made your choice,"_

_"And you made the choice to run, then the choice to push me away, and then the choice to ignore me and then the choice to hook up with someone else. So let's not play the blame game." Betty bit back._

_Jughead recoiled slightly and after a long and very uncomfortable silence, he finally spoke, "This was a bad idea,"_

_She was right, of course, he knew all this himself. The 'choices' she was pointing out to him were why he hadn't reached out to her. Why he had left her be as best he could. He had set all this unrest in motion, and he needed no reminding in it._

_Betty moved towards him and sat on the armrest of the couch, trying to gauge his body language through the league of space between them. He was still so purposefully closed off, hunched, with his gaze cast down, his damp hair falling in front of his eyes. He looked so sad, and beautiful, and she wasn't sure if she could live the rest of her days, or even one more moment, without him._

_So she reminded herself why she was there, not to fight, not to point out each other's shortcomings, or to drudge up the past, or to point out mistakes or flaws, but because she wanted him, needed him, and that she was sorry she had hurt him._

_"I was wrong." She said softly._

_"What?"_

_"I was wrong." She reiterated with a deep breath, " -Very wrong." She continued, her voice cracking, "-I took you for granted. I neglected you, but more specifically I neglected us." She was rambling now, still staring at him, willing him to look up and meet her eyes, "-I was blinded by my accomplishments and my ambition." Finally, he turned slightly to give a brief glance her way, a look of disbelief overtaking his stern features, "-You had always been there. You were always supportive, and I took that for granted too." Betty rambled on quicker now as she dropped onto the couch cushion next to him._

_She saw his shoulders loosen only slightly, and he straightened from his hunched over position. He was close enough now that she could feel his body heat, smell his unique fragrance and suddenly she was warm and buzzing all over._

_'Focus.'_

_She swallowed thickly and dared to lean into his personal space more. He still seemed to be trying to keep from looking at her too long. Keeping his eyes locked on his now fidgeting fingers. His breathing seemed forced as if he were pacing himself._

_"-I'm sorry. I really am. I feel like I'll be apologizing for the rest of my life, but it's the truth. I should have listened to you."_

_Jughead had been ready to take her back at a moments notice a few months ago, but now? Now he had come to terms with the fact that he himself had destroyed them and had now built his walls back up. Haphazardly, but they were up again, finally, really. And after drinking himself into a pit of despair for almost 5 months, he was better, now. Stronger, single, sober, and stable. Trying to let go of her had caused, and helped with all of that._

_But Betty didn't know what he'd been through or what he had done in the past 10 months. And he was wary of opening up, to her, or anyone. His time in California was mind-numbing and self-deprecating, and when JB sent him home because he was 'just letting himself feel worse', he went home, saw Betty and Adam together and promptly drowned his sorrows at The LoveBuzz, risking seeing her every night._

_Before long he realized Betty was avoiding their shared life and soon after he stumbled into a 'relationship' with Trula. His brief affair with the Publicist was a dull, drunken distraction. He had used her as a way of feeling anything other than loss and loneliness, but it didn't work, and the longer they hung out together the lonelier he felt. She was so drastically different from the blonde sitting next to him, in almost every aspect. A dark-haired Amazon, who loved drama and partying. She had lots of opinions, along with a big mouth and a hot temper. And as time passed, he became crestfallen and then desperately guilty over the whole relationship, and cut Trula lose within a month._

_But now, beautiful, vulnerable, soft-spoken Betty's apology hit hard. Having her admit she neglected them was huge, and he wanted to believe that she was being truthful._

_"Really?" He asked, in an almost whisper._

_"Really," Betty said earnestly._

_He finally looked at her, really looked at her, as though his steely blue eyes were burrowing into her very soul. Her stomach dropped out because his features wrestled deeply with every emotion. He went to open his mouth to speak but then shook his head 'no'. He sank back into the couch, his head heavy on the backrest, fingers pushing his hair back. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before he turned his head back to look at her with another heavy sigh, and sad blue eyes. He didn't deserve her._

_"-I'm sorry." She reiterated, as she shuffled in closer and crossed her legs up under herself so that her shin pressed along the length of his thigh. The dip in the couch moved him into her slightly, but he didn't recoil and she had to fight off the urge to push back the damp unruly hairs that fell over his forehead again._

_Jughead swallowed thickly, a groan mixed with a sigh leaving his lips. His glance towards her sent his body into a tensed panic, and a strange combination of warmth and gut retching terror washed over him. His gaze drifted back to the ceiling. She was so close now, closer than she had been in nearly a year. Her warmth, the scent, her sad smile all pulling at his heartstrings, ripping at them even, as he pondered her confessions._

_"-Please say something." She uttered in a tiny voice._

_"I...I'm...fuck, Betty. I don't know." He rambled honestly, eye still cast up to the roof._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I don't know." He muttered._

_Jughead was trying his hardest not to look at her, knowing full well that her big, beautiful, tear-soaked eyes would be his absolute undoing. Because he still loved her, he always had loved her, and he always would love her. But she did the one thing he never thought she could, and definitely did the one thing that could hurt him the most; she left._

_"I don't know, as in, I don't love you anymore. Or, I don't know, because, I'm scared?" She asked gently._

_He didn't answer her, but Betty could feel that it was the latter. Tears stung behind her eyes again, because she knew she would be wrestling with the guilt of leaving him for the rest of her life. But, she would happily suffer it if it meant she could help tend to their wounds and she could have him in her life again. She had to give all of this her absolute best shot. She had to remind herself that her tears could be healing tears, that he wasn't screaming or yelling, or kicking her out of the house again. So she kept her cool, trying not to lose hope, just yet, she still needed to soldier on._

_"-Again, I'm so sorry."_

_He let out another defeated sigh and turned to look at her. He felt sick, anxious and very conflicted. But looking at her chipped away at his hastily built walls like she always did, and all too soon he was lost within her current._

_"-I wish I had seen it sooner."_

_Tears were streaming down her face now, but with a quick flick of her wrist, she wiped them away. The salty liquid stung the few opened notches in her palms, and with a quiet hiss of pain, she quickly wiped her hands on her jeans._

_"-I never want to be without you." She mumbled, trying to distract herself from his worried stare._

_He did notice her actions, the tick, the discomfort in her movements. He saw how her fingers coiled into her palms. He could tell the moment she walked into their house that she was back to her old habits again, but he wasn't about to judge. He did, however, feel at fault. Had he taken her calls the day after their unravelling, or any of them following their separation, so much of their mutual heartache could have been spared._

_"-I still love you, Juggie. I don't think I could ever stop." She said softly, the quake in her voice, though unintentional, proved to help plead her case._

_He melted, physically sinking under the weight of her words. Her sweet voice rang in his ears, that old-school nickname, the one that literally only she called him, the name slipped past her lips for the first time in ages, and it shook him to his very core. But he couldn't bring himself to speak. He was so torn between having her and never wanting to lose her again. If he never let her back in, she could never leave, and he could never push her away._

_He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved his hands in his pockets with another groan. He sat that way for a what felt like an eternity, listening to her uneven breathing next to him, contemplating what the fuck he was going to do or what else he was waiting for her to say. She'd said everything that he hoped she would, still looking like the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen, smelling like honey and nature, and sitting so goddamn close to him, in the home they had built together. But still, he didn't deserve her._

_"-Maybe we could be just friends?" She mumbled softly, "-I can't imagine my life without you in it."_

_Jughead shook his head 'no' again because he knew they could never be just friends, and that they had never been 'just' friends. They had always been something more, something deeper. They were confidants, allies, companions, partners, lovers, soul mates but never 'just' friends. Seeing her as anything other than the center of her universe wouldn't be possible, nor in all honesty, did he want it to be. He wanted all or nothing. He needed all or nothing. And since his walls were back up and semi-functional, nothing seemed easier to deal with at the moment._

_A heavy silence hung over them, thick, like a fog, until Betty broke the unsettling pause, "-Maybe I should go."_

_Having said everything she came to say, and seeing now that there was little hope of a rekindling of any kind she felt heavy, remorseful and fully ready to admit defeat at least for the time being._

_Jughead's heart broke at the thought of her walking out that fucking door again. Her sad eyes met his and he just couldn't. He opened his mouth and said what he wanted to say, the moment she stepped back into their home: "Stay."_

_Betty's posture straightened and her heart pounded right out of her chest. She kept her eyes on his, desperately trying to interpret his emotion._

_"Stay?" She asked quietly._

_Jughead nodded, his eyes glued to hers. "Please stay,"_

_"You're sure?" She asked wearily._

_Jughead nodded again, he had really never been more sure of a single word in his life._

_Her gaze held his for a long silence as if to fully gauge whether or not he was being honest or just relenting to ease conflict. She found his demeanour truthful and his eyes genuine, which warmed her as a small smile pulled at her lips._

_"I'm sorry too," Jughead said softly as he watched her, his eyes dropping from her deep, devoted eyes to the soft, splendid smile that spread across her lips._

_It had been far too long since he'd been this close to her, and even longer since he touched her. Without thinking his hand slipped from its clenched resting place inside his pocket, and his palm fell to her knee, his long fingers smoothing over her thigh gripping in as if to keep her in place._

_"-I should have never left," He said pointedly as he held her gaze, his fingers giving her thigh a light squeeze._

_Her gasp was strangled but audible, and she shifted in closer, turning her body to his chest, her breasts grazing up his arm._

_"-I'm so sorry, for everything, for running, for not giving you a chance, for Trula..."_

_Betty interrupted him, "Don't. Please don't say her name again."_

_He nodded in reply, dropping his gaze. Still, a small smile spread through him, reaching his eyes for the first time in a long time when she touched his cheek tentatively. She brought his gaze back up to hers and held the contact, captivating him with her familiar movements. He found himself hopelessly absorbed in the sensuality that seemed to ooze from her without her even thinking it. He watched as her tongue darted out to wet her lips, then as she pulled the bottom pillow in between her teeth, causing his own jaw to clench under her touch._

_"I don't belong with anyone but you," He confessed softly._

_She felt her nerves bubbling inside her chest, and without thinking she asked him timidly, unsure, yet still not really caring if all this was 'too fast': "Can I kiss you?"_

_But he was already leaning into her and nodding back absently, just as nervous and just as eager._

_Betty closed the small space between them quickly but stopped just shy of his lips. His eyes fell shut as her lips hovered questionably over his, her warm breath fanning over his face._

_Jughead's fingers tightened in anticipation of a contact he had dreamt of for at least 200 or more days. His grip now pressed into the crease of her leg, dangerously close to her core and the action sent her body rushing forward, her lips finally landing softly on his._

_With a heavy sigh, their kiss spread through him, overtaking his senses. Kissing her stole the breath from his lungs and honed him in on one blissful thing, Betty's lips, finally, on his again. Like a breath of life expanding through him, the feeling was both habitual and surprising, comforting and exciting. Almost immediately he slid his tongue across her bottom lip, nipping at her gently when she whimpered in reply. She opened for him, covering the hand he had placed on her cheek with her own while their lips and tongues touched and explored as if they were unfamiliar with the fire they held for each other._

_Their intensity built quickly and before she knew it he had her by the hips and was pulling her up to straddle him. Her hands threaded through his damp locks and she settled heavy on his lap, pulling him closer as his fingers gripped and tugged anywhere he could reach. Clutching desperately at her back, her sides, her hips, and her ass his own body responding to hers without question, as she moved against him with a shameless voraciously._

_They broke apart breathless, each panting and muttering a string of awed profanities and heartfelt apologies. He pressed his forehead to hers, his fingers trailing up and down the backs of her arms._

_"I'm so sorry, I should have never kicked you out. I should have taken your call," He mumbled before kissing her languidly._

_"You were hurting," She breathed against his lips._

_"Don't make excuses for me. You were hurting too, and you still hung on," He replied sadly, kissing her slowly once more._

_She sagged against him, allowing his lips to soothe her sorrow. He was warm and tasted like maple syrup. The sensation reminded her of the first time he had kissed her, alone in her bedroom, the warmth of his body and lips pressed against her, consuming her, reminding her now, without a doubt, that no one else would ever do._

_"We're both idiots," Betty informed, coming up for a small breath before kissing him leisurely as though she was exploring him for the very first time. All over again._

_"So, what now?" Jughead asked, pulling away from her lips only slightly, his forehead pressed to hers again._

_"Do you forgive me?" She asked, pressing her lips to his for a brief kiss._

_"Yes." He replied back instantly, kissing her to seal his confession. "-Do you forgive me?" He mumbled against her temple as he peppered kisses on her face._

_"I do," She replied gently, rubbing his nose with hers in an Eskimo kiss. "-Will you take me back?"_

_"Of course." Jughead chuckled, leaning into her nuzzle._

_"Could I move home?" She asked hopefully._

_"God, yes," Jughead whispered, followed by a hopeful sigh of relief._  
_~~~_

 

Betty grumbled, though this memory had a happy ending, she still needed to shake the bitterness her thoughts of their 'unrest' always left behind. She too had been so riddled with guilt. Neither of them had made appropriate choices, but she knew that their time away from each other had solidified the fact that they couldn't have anyone else. That if they weren't together, they would most certainly be alone.

The brief kiss she and Adam shared had explained that feeling quite perfectly.

She should have been thrilled, Adam was a 'catch' in most depictions of the word, and he liked her. That was clear. But kissing him sparked nothing inside her, except sadness. That night, once she was behind closed doors, she cried, for what felt like forever. She stopped hanging out with Adam, and basically became a hermit. She continued to work a lot and took a couple of freelance writing gigs to fill her extra time, filling the gaping hole that Jughead's lack of companionship had left behind with the distraction patterns of her youth.

Now, in the warm glow of mid-morning, Betty decided to finally get out of bed and scavenge for some breakfast and coffee. She gingerly unfurled herself from Jughead's grip, half anticipating him to wake from the movement. Surprisingly he didn't, he just blindly pulled her pillow to his chest and continued to doze. With a smile, she slipped into some clothes and pulled her hair up in a sensible bun before heading out the door.


	6. Every You, Every Me

_Carve your name into my arm,_  
_Instead of stressed I lie here charmed,_  
_Cause there's nothing else to do,_  
_Every me and every you._

_Sucker love a box I choose,_  
_No other box I choose to use,_  
_Another love I would abuse,_  
_No circumstances could excuse._

_~ Placebo - Every you, Every me ~_

 

~~~

Jughead stirred away slowly, slightly confused as to the time. It was bright and warm in the loft, but Betty was gone. He checked his phone, it was just past lunch, and he'd surprisingly slept for a quite a few blissful hours.

It wasn't uncommon for Betty to run out and get coffee as opposed to making it herself but waking up alone continued to unsettled him. Still, he breathed in the sweet familiarity of their linens mixed with her unique fragrance and smiled. It had been an adjustment, welcome and only slightly bizarre; getting used to sleeping in their bed again. There had been a point time, not too long ago, really, that he would have rather ate paint than be anywhere near the king sized pillow top. Unfortunately, those memories stayed with him, but now, stretched out in that very same bed he took note, almost obsessively, of all the pictures and reminders tucked in and around their apartment, riddling every shelf and ledge. Items and images that he once couldn't bear to look at, were all right back where they belonged.

After his brave, beautiful beloved accosted him on that dreary afternoon he made quick work in his efforts to resume their home to its once domestic condition. He bailed on his plans to move back to New York, promptly got his job back at Elliot Ave and had long since skipped out on Dexter and Toni's boozy companionship at the bar. He and Betty set up date nights, made time for weekends away and got into the habit of cooking dinner together. He would surprise her with lunch at work or she would tuck out early so they could catch an early dinner or movie regularly. They talked at length about everything and anything, becoming as in sync as they once were, slipping back into their habitual rhythm effortlessly. Lately, their conversations were about their plans to move somewhere quieter, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Though Seattle was lovely, it seemed as though it was time for a new start. Maybe not far from their new found home, but somewhere less populated, somewhere quieter, where the hustle and bustle were slower, more manageable, somewhere, surprisingly, more like Riverdale. Simply put; they were both trying. The pool of Betty's forgiveness was deep, nearly bottomless, he thought, and when she said she forgave him, she meant it. He, on the other hand, was trying to forgive himself for being so rash, and stubborn, and simply unconvinced that he could be enough for her. But, just as she was listening to him more acutely, her truth was starting to seep into him, too.

Jughead stretched out like a contented cat in a sunbeam and was about to find some pants and get up when Betty let herself into the apartment. She came in dressed in his flannel and a pair of distressed shorts that nearly disappeared under the length of his shirt. He was always astonished at her ability to look well put together in the simplest of outfits, as though she might have put some thought into this casual look. Though he knew, she hadn't. She kicked the door shut behind herself and he watched as she pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head, all while balancing a tray of coffee and pastries.

"Morning," She greeted him with a wide smile.

"Beautiful." He mused.

How he still managed to make her blush, after all these years, he'd never know. But it was irresistible, so he still took every advantage.

"Don't get up!" Betty instructed as she toed off her flats and quickly tossed her sunglasses and purse on a nearby table.

Jughead held his arms up in mock surrender and slid back so he could rest against their headboard. She handed him the tray of breakfast goodies and slipped out of her jean shorts, then adjusted their sheets and got back into bed next to him, mimicking his sitting position.

"To our holidays." She said in a toast as she grabbed her coffee.

"To us," Jughead replied touching his cup to hers.

They ate breakfast quickly, their playful banter turning into shameless flirting just as quickly. As they finished eating Betty covered her tummy with a groan, having just polished off the last sips of her extra large coffee.

Jughead chuckled, "You ok?"

"Yea, I just ate too fast," Betty replied lightly as she stretched out on her back. "-I just need a minute," She giggled.

He laughed lightly again, "I know the feeling all too well,"

Betty chuckled and let out a deep sigh, allowing her eyes to fall shut as she tried to digest an obscene amount of dairy, caffeine and carbs that they had just inhaled. Jughead pulled a pair of shorts on and took the quiet opportunity to gather their garbage. He took and disposed of it in the kitchen, then brought his laptop back to bed with him. He had all their electronics synced up to his computer and could control nearly everything in their apartment with a few keystrokes. This came in handy while bingeing, sick days or during lazy days off, like today. He turned on their tv, switched to Netflix and cued up the next episode in their most current tv obsession.

~~~

In-between snack and bathroom breaks they spent the whole day lounging, sprawled out in bed well into the late afternoon. Their day streaming was mixed with light conversation and peppered with soft caresses, comfortable silences and heated kisses. Now, as they relaxed he laid back, tucking an arm under his hand and pulling her against his chest. Resting her head on his upper abdomen she purposefully moved her curves against the length of his body, soft and heavy as they both sagged into the mattress and pillows below.

An hour or so later Jughead suggested they pull themselves together and get something substantial to eat.

With a low growl of hunger rumbling below her ear, Betty chuckled, "I think we should get pizza,"

"I love that idea," Jughead replied, unwinding himself from her draped embrace, "- But I'll need to shower first,"

"No problem, I'll put in our order and we'll pick it up once you're done,"

Jughead nodded and gathered some fresh clothes from their armoire before heading into the bathroom. Betty then pulled his computer onto her lap, navigated to the website of their favourite pizza joint, and placed their habitual order. He had told her to plan to be out all day tomorrow for her birthday, that he had a few surprises up his sleeve but let her in on no other details. So now, it took everything in her not to snoop through his computer and find out what exactly he had planned for them. She listened to the water start, and then the telltale sound of him stepping under the shower stream that followed. So with her part of the pizza bargain complete she resisted the temptation to snoop, closed his computer, and gave into another temptation instead.

~~~

The small bathroom gathered the humid, perfumed air of his hot shower quickly, even with the small window open a crack. Jughead ran through his regular routine, slowing his pace near the end of his regime, anticipating her company. He heard Betty slip into the bathroom as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair, and he couldn't help but smile. His little vixen was as insatiable as ever, and he would indulge her every time she'd have him, which lately, seemed to be on the constant.

The water ran clear across his body as Betty stepped into the warm tiled space. She latched the glass door before sneaking into the steady, soothing sluice with him, allowing the cleansing liquid to wash away the laziness of their day spent in bed. Pushing her wet hair out of her face now she stood behind him, admiring his strong back muscles as he washed his face vigorously. She stepped in even closer, her fingertips moving over the Old English calligraphy script that crept across the side of his ribs. His body withered slightly under her delicate touch as she traced the lettering that wrapped across his rib cage.

Betty loved to trace his tattoos, drawn to them like magnets to metal, from the first piece to the most recent, it was habitual. Once they were healed she was keen on memorizing the shapes with her fingers, her lips...her tongue. Sometimes her explorative touch was absent, sometimes curious, other times heated, but all times deliciously distracting to him. Still, even now, in the midst of her avid touch, he remembered vividly getting their first tattoos. Because his first ink had been her first as well, and they got them while in Vegas to celebrate their 21st birthdays.

 

_~~~_  
_On a particularly inebriated Saturday night, squished into a booth in an overly packed nightclub lounge, Betty had suggested that they get married. In classic Vegas style, by Elvis, in a little white chapel, donned in gross plastic flowers and scratchy polyester. He laughed, but, she was serious._

_"I mean it!" She swatted at him playfully as he chuckled. "-Isn't that what people do in Las Vegas?"_

_"Sure. Shotgun, no forethought, basic, board, drunks do."_

_"It'll be fun! Like we eloped!!" Betty beamed, "-Remember?!" She exclaimed quickly, shaking his shoulders for effect._

_"But Ronnie and Arch are here." Jughead laughed. Of course, he remembered._

_"Exactly! They can be our witnesses!"_

_"Betts..." He reasoned, dipping his head down as if embarrassed._

_Her face dropped, a slight pout crossing her lips, "I thought you wanted to get married?"_

_Jughead sagged under her worried tone then pulled her in close, hugging her tight, "I do, but I don't want to get married just to say we did it."_

_"It's Vegas, Juggie!"_

_"I know. But...let's think of something else we can do just because 'It's Vegas', alright?"_

_Surprisingly Betty relented quickly and pressed the topic no further._

_While nuzzling into his embrace, a sly smile crossed her lips and she nodded, "Ok."_

_The truth was he had planned on asking her to marry him once they were both done with school, which was only a couple of years away. He wanted to give her his gramma's ring. He also knew, deep down, that she would regret not having her family with her on her wedding day if they were to elope. He didn't care much either way, as long as it was her and as long as it was forever. But the opportunity of having his family share in his marriage day did play a slight factor in his saying 'no' to her suggestion of eloping, in true Las Vegas fashion._

_So instead they decided on something slightly less reckless and got tattoos._

_To Jughead, the pain was nothing more than an annoying scratching sensation as the artist etched a skeleton key, nearly identical to the charm necklace Betty wore, into the outside skin of his forearm, complete with her initials woven into the bow of the latchkey._

_Betty's tolerance to the pain seemed less than casual, likely due to the sensitive skin in which she chose to place the adornment. But he held her hand for the mere moments the artist took in creating the simple 3 point crown design in the flesh above her hipbone._  
_~~~_

 

But now, as she snaked her arms around his body all his thoughts migrated to her naked frame pressed firmly against his backside, her lips on his shoulder blade, her delicate hands slipping over his slick skin. With a deep sigh, her fingers trailed over his pecks, ghosting with purpose across his nipples, drawing a heavy sigh out of him that matched her own.

"Pizza will be ready in an hour or so," She said lightly as she mapped her touch lower.

For a Saturday, the wait was anticipated and acceptable, but Betty found herself hoping it would take longer, so they could drain the hot water tank while wrapped up in each other.

"What ever will we do until then?" He asked her sarcastically over his shoulder.

"I can't think of a single thing," She chuckled back.

Jughead huffed out a small laugh, "Bullshit."

"I might already have something planned," She replied pushing her hands over his hip bones and then down the fronts of his thighs.

With his hand behind himself he held onto her hip, best he could, trying to keep her as close as possible. His other hand braced out in front of himself in a desperate attempt at balance as her fingers wrapped around him, palm running over his cock, from root to tip, stroking his desires, effortless and electric, as always. His head dropped down in front of him as a deep growl bloomed from his depths, her movements too graceful and too precise for his own damn good. He felt her breath on his back, her breasts and pearled peaks pressed against his wet frame, her free hand on his hip then his stomach, holding him steady. Betty kept a firm grip and now relentless rhythm on him and all too soon he felt himself rushing towards release, a dizzying heat spreading through to his extremities, his heart pounding in his ears.

"You gonna...m-make me cum," Jughead gasped in a choppy warning.

Betty chuckled darkly, "That's the plan," She replied, feeling his abs and cock pulsing under her touch, "-Just, not yet."

As soon as the last words passed her lips she slowed and loosened her grip, fingers trailing back up to his chest. He let out a disgruntled groan at the loss but slowly turned and captured her jawline in his hands, pushing strands of her wet hair back before pulling her to his lips.

Betty moaned into the fierce kiss, meeting his eagerness in kind with her own. Her arms locked around his neck, her fingers pushing into his hair, holding him as captive against her lips. He was a willing prisoner though and as his tongue slid sensually along with hers his hands dropped to her waist, fingers digging into the flare of hips, holding just a mere wisp of space between them. With their mouths moving methodically his hand slid further down to cup her sex, fingers dipping into her soft warmth, his own body shuttering in delight at the thick arousal he found there. She let out a sob, fervently breaking their kiss as her hips canted toward his ministrations. He leisurely moved his fingers against her folds watching as her head tipped back, another one of her heady groans rippling through his body. Her grip on his shoulder was dire and he did his best to hold her steady while driving her wild with a slow, thick, wet lust. He nuzzled his face in the soaked crook of her neck, kissing her skin heedlessly and he moved slow sensual circles over her clit with a building intensity.

Feeling his own knees shaking, Jughead inched her back against the wall, erupting a hiss of shock that morphed into pleasure as her heated skin came in contact with cold tiles. He then settled against her side, fingers resuming their smooth petting of her slick valley, fingers probing and gathering. Betty's head dropped again, a dull thud of the tile behind her reverberated through the small space. She tilted her neck to giving him freer access, moaning loudly when he indulged her and picked up his speed between her thighs simultaneously. He sank his teeth into the soft flesh of her shoulder, groaning as she rolled her hips greedily against his hand. With one arm still circled around her torso he held her hard against himself, matching her greedy thrusts with his own, rubbing his aching arousal against her hip.

"God, you feel so fucking incredible." He mumbled into her ear, the words drawing a low moan from her depths.

Betty could hardly breathe, let alone answer, but the ravenous beast inside her had been awoken, and somehow she gathered the vocabulary needed and forced out a command:

"On your knees," She gasped in reply, slowly pushing him away from her body.

The movement shifted them both into the shower stream again, warmish water cascading over familiar bodies while they shamelessly stared at each other, chests heaving with yearning and anticipation. As he gawked at the flushed skin of her breasts he blindly grasped for the hot water nob, turning it up significantly. Her husky tone sent him into quick obedience soon thereafter, and once the shower temperature was warmer he dropped to his knees gently at her feet, raking his stare back up her slick body, resting his gaze on her hooded green eyes. Her eyebrow bounced as a smirk tugged at her lips, but the mischievous look barely registered in his brain before she was moving one leg up, and placing a foot on his shoulder, actively opening herself up in front of him.

He knew he let out some kind of whimper as Betty rested back against the cool tiles again, her body arching towards him in a primal desire. He might have even stared in awe of her for longer than was necessary but as if guided by some kind of natural providence he pressed forward, his hands pulling and pushing her back, tongue lapping into her slit, all in one swift motion. She keened towards him with a deep, thirsty moan, her fingers lacing through his thick wet hair again, pulling him closer. Her hips bucked towards his face while he lavished her folds and she found herself boiling over and falling apart faster than she had anticipated.

His practiced tongue knew exactly what she desired, so he moved over her thirstily, confident, hungry for her and her release. Though he knew all the ways they enjoyed each other, some things felt strangely new from time to time. Whether it be a change in scenery, intensity or angle, sometimes, like right now, their lovemaking felt fresh and new, or rather, in this case; tasted, fresh and new. He couldn't quite figure it out as he lapped her clit, but her tang was extra sweet and salty around his taste buds. He wasn't about to call attention to it; as change was expected, normal and necessary. He was adaptable and loved learning, and she was a topic, subject, course or lifestyle that he would never bore of. He paid the difference no mind other than enjoying her natural variation but was impassioned by it, set on licking into her every nook and cranny.

"Yes, Jug." She moaned repeatedly as he continued to lap and suckle her.

Betty's eyes were screwed shut, but soon she forced them open, focusing her vision on the spectacle below, revelling in the quick smouldering glances up Jughead made as he devoured her. She watched with hooded eyes while he kept his dark stare on her now, fueling the building wildfire growing inside her. One more strong swipe across her clit proved to be the tipping point and without warning or restraint she was cumming hard against his mouth, and he was gathering her essence hungrily. Her legs shook as waves of pleasure crashed over all her senses, claiming her into a swirling sea of passion and desire. He worked her through her ride, his palms heavy on her hips and thighs, pressing her into the tile, while tenderly gliding his tongue over her thrumming velvet center as she gyrated against him.

As her body relaxed she loosened her fingers and gently pushed his hair back a few times, no doubt soothing his aching scalp. They had yet to break eye contact, save for during her climax, and though she could watch him like this forever, be his first, second, third and fourth meals, she wanted him, all of him, to connect and be connected. His smug smirk up at her threaded heat through to her core again, and she curled deeper into his hair once more, scratching his scalp lightly before she gave him a purposeful tug upwards.

"That was quick," Jughead mused, kissing his way up her body, his hands following his journey up to her breasts. He cupped both perfect rounds in his hands, heavy, full and soft against rough palms.

"Yea," She breathed covering his hands with her own, as he rolled and padded over each wet, dusty peak.

Their moment had them half in the shower stream again, the warmth and wetness adding an ambrosial ache to the swipes, tugs and kisses he was littering her tits with. She let out another whiney moan as he continued to toy with her, trying to bypass the smug smile that still pulled at his mouth as he watched his own hands work her into a panting mess. All over again. Still, Jughead wasted no time in pressing himself in between her legs, nudging her knees wider and wedging himself inside the moon of her hips. She felt him hard and heavy against her stomach as his hands dropped to the thick flesh of her ass to help hoist her up. She hopping into the movement and hooked her legs behind him, long arms draped over his shoulders, her lips on his skin, her breath in his ear.

With her one hand still wound around his neck, the other snaked in between them and wrapped around his cock. She rubbed her thumb gently over his tip, swirling his wetness up and down the length of him with a few sensual pumps. The deep moan that escaped him fueled her, emboldened her with an unprecedented hunger, an ache desperate to be filled. Guiding him to her, Betty groaned when he slipped inside her without resistance, bottoming out in one sleek motion, completely sheathed in her incomparable warmth. He paused there, hands gripping her ass and hip, hard enough to bruise, willing himself not to fall apart right then. She felt better than anything else in life and dammed if he didn't want to stay buried inside her until the day he died. But she grew impatient and pulled him in deeper with a skilled clench of her soft internal walls.

With a shutter, his head dropped to her shoulder and he mumbled: "Not fair..."

Betty rolled her cheek against his wet hair with a breathy chuckle. She felt whole and hungry, vehement and yielding, completely and utterly enraptured with him. She moaned as pulsed herself around him again. His answer was a growl, matched with him canting his hips back and away from her, before surging forward, forcing a gasp the leave her lips with the force that he drove into her. He repeated the motion, again and again, building a strong almost urgent rhythm. His head was already spinning, the slapping of skin on skin echoing in his ears and the compact tile and glass space. He pressed his lips and moans into her skin, bit the soft slender slope of her neck as he plunged into her.

"Harder," She begged.

Her words poured hotly down his spine, "Fuck, s-say that again," He managed to groan.

Her voice was a throaty whisper this time, her lips skimming over the shell of his ear, hopeful but authoritative, "Harder, Juggie."

He let out a deep groan that warmed her, both hands gripping her ass now as he began pulling and pushing her to him, matching the synced sway of her hips to his. Soon she was chanting a mixed mantra of his name and praise while cumming hard around him, her body seizing and clinging to him like a vice. She pulled him right over the edge with her, her fluttering grip pulsing rhythmically around him, his teeth sinking into her shoulder again to keep from crying out. Shuttering through his own climax he spent himself within her, kissing her angry shoulder as he laid a path up to kiss her passionately on the mouth. He then slowed their momentum to a stop, lips and bodies still connected, basking in the shock waves of pure ecstasy still coursing through them. She kissed him back eagerly still, panting for breath yet refusing to release him, limbs secured around him.

"I love you so much," He confessed as he pulled away from her covetous lips.

Jughead pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaning his to hers, "And I you," Betty replied.

"We should get you washed, and get that pizza,"

"Always thinking with your stomach," She teased lightly, allowing her legs to drop, easing herself into a standing position.

He laughed lightly, watching her steady herself on wobbly legs, warm water gliding over their flushed bodies. "Not always..."

She nodded with a smile as he grabbed her body wash, pouring some into his hands and working a rich lather over her skin. She watched him intently, feeling her lusty beast stirring awake again. He must have noticed this or felt it for himself because his leisurely wash turned rushed as he migrated past her breasts and down. Once sufficiently sudsy he pulled her under the cascading water, rinsing her clean. She took the reins from there, knowing that if she let him fondle her to each other's liking, they'd be there all night. And though that would be welcome, she was just as hungry, for pizza sustenance, as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~
> 
> Thank you, as always, for reading. I really can't express my gratitude for you!
> 
> Feel free to comment :D


	7. But, Honestly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a sweet little treat :)

_No way you'll silence me,_  
_Nowhere to hide from me,_  
_You'll see._

_And tonight I thank the stars,_  
_As I count my lucky scars,_  
_For everything you've given me._

_And all the words I gave to you,_  
_Something borrowed something blue,_  
_If you want them back,_  
_I'll give it to you._

_~ Foo Fighters - But, Honestly ~_

~~~

As Betty began washing her hair Jughead let himself out of the shower to dry off. He pulled a comb through his damp hair and padded back to their bedroom area, towel hung low over his hips. They'd been occupied for almost an hour already, but luckily the pizza shop was just a few short blocks away. He got dressed and fed their pets again as Betty emerged from the bathroom, skin moist and hair still dripping slightly. Silently, she walked past him in the kitchen with a coy smile and he couldn't help but watch her sway towards their armoire.

She pinched the towel around her chest, pulled open the closet doors and then fished out some underwear from their bottom drawer. She paused then and pondered the contents hung inside before she unwrapped the soft fabric that cloaked her. Now, standing in not a stitch she ran the terry cloth through her hair, ringing and scrunching her damp locks as she contemplated her outfit choices.

Jughead just stared, awed, with a mouthful of proverbial cotton balls. In awe of her, in awe of their life and just straight up in awe of the vision before him. He had promised her his world all over again. He'd also promised never to run, to never hide, or ignore or push away, no matter the hurt facing anything head on might generate. Soon, what began as breathless promises made post mind-blowing, pent-up, reaffirming make-up sex, had now turned into blatant promises, with the undercurrents of goals.

He had sworn his validity to the ends of the earth, his commitment to her steady and true, giving her everything, his feelings and flaws laid in her lap. She helped him gather them, placed them all in delicate rows for him to return to when he was ready. And he was ready, off and on, throughout these past months. Not only were he and Betty talking more, but he was journaling more too, which had been extremely helpful, a habit back anew after being abandoned during his time in film school and over their almost year apart.

Not to mention that he was working on a new project with a few of the guys from the comic book store. Fletcher and Jinx approached him with an idea they had been percolating on for years. Both the gifted comic sketch artist, they had the characters and some storyline ready, but wanted, or rather, needed, a real writer. They asked Jughead to be their writer, story consultant, developmental editor, and narrative designer, but he had passed since he was tragically uninspired and moving back home to New York at the time. But with that extreme moving plan scrapped and the offer to still participate in the project even remotely, left him quick to hop on board.

Neither he nor Betty had any real bounded tethers to Seattle itself. Betty's job was going well as well, but her freelance work was going even better, and conveniently she could continue her free agent passion for writing remotely. Their roots had never been planted securely in the dirt here. Sure, they made a home of it, made quality friends and connections in it, enjoyed it, even thrived (for a few years) in it, but it still was never truly home. He knew this to be true for her, and sometimes Jughead wondered if a place would ever fully generate that feeling in him; that feeling of home, or if it would always be people that stirred up that feeling of belonging. However, he could feel the need for change or movement itching under his skin, the grounding need to plant roots with her was almost defending, the allure of a quiet life nearly haunting his dreams.

Presently though, the only thing haunting him was the vision before him. Haunting and exquisite he watched her soft feminine form sway slightly as she thought, her legs flexing as she balanced on the balls of her feet, her breasts giggling when she bounced and rocked back on her heels. He loved her effortless beauty, obviously, but watching her here, like this; candid, careless, and confident, completely bewitched him.

"You're so beautiful," He commented, his awe seeping into his tone.

She turned with a demure smile and wrapped her towel loosely around her chest again, tucking the knot securely near her side, a blush creeping up her breasts to flush into her cheeks.

"You're biased,"

"Doesn't make the statement less true," He shrugged cooly as he came up behind and wrapped his arms around her.

He settled flush against her warm back and rested his chin on her shoulder as she flung through her extensive (in his opinion) wardrobe. She quickly pawed through article after article of fabric, touched nearly every item, ran her hands over almost every option before she let out a deep sigh.

"I don't have anything to wear," She mumbled half-heartedly, leaning her weight back against his strong chest.

Jughead chuckled as he smoothly uncurled one arm from around her stomach to reach out and choose a small, blue, cotton sundress from the closet.

She frowned, "I'll be cold,"

"You don't feel cold to me," He replied in a whisper to her ear. Though the words came out flirtatious, she honestly didn't feel cold, at all, her body still radiating the warmth and perfume of their shower together.

"But I-I might be...once...once we get outside," She shivered, welcoming the goosebumps and skin tremors that accompanied his idle caress. His hands ran over her exposed skin; slow, chaste and reviving, causing her pulse to flutter, making her pant quietly and press against him.

He hummed lowly against the shell of her ear and swiftly chose a tightly threaded cardigan to cover her up a bit. She chuckled at his decisiveness, her laugh catching in her throat as he slid both hands up under her towel, his hands cool on her skin, slipping dangerously low across her belly. He inhaled her warm scent, his touch sliding over her hips and across the fronts of her thighs, much like she had done to him moments ago in the shower.

"Jug..." Betty whispered, making no attempt to stop or detour him from his explorative touch.

He kissed up the long slope of her neck to pull at her earlobe, lightly, with his teeth, "Hmm?"

"Pizza..." She managed to offed up weakly, feeling his heavy hand low on her thigh, the other coming up to cup her breast.

"Just one more," He mumbled, fingers slipping over the dewy hairs at the apex of her thighs.

Betty giggled through a moan again when Jughead dipped his fingers into the soft, warm, hidden nirvana under his touch. Her hips rolled to meet his teasing but he pulled back and moved his hand up her stomach again, before tracing the undersides of her breasts.

Shamelessly she squirmed in front of him, wanting and needy, worked up, all over again. When he finally cupped both breasts and his thumbs ran over her taught peaks she cried out in pleasure, her hands covering his on her chest through her towel. His breathing was hot and low, his body hard, twitching and rutting subtly against her ass, his clothed frame heightening the friction against her backside.

"Juggie..." She mewled while she tried to sneak her hand in behind herself to palm his length. But with a scolding tisk of his tongue, he purposefully pressed himself harder against her. Still, as determined as ever, her hand grabbed his wrist at her breast instead, dragging his digits down her body to her aching core. "-Please..." She whined, borderline hopeless.

Jughead groaned into the soft space behind her ear, then obliged her. He slid his fingers across her slick velvet folds with a shutter and mumbled a few profanities into her neck as he leisurely pushed and pulled his fingers through her heat.

"Fuck," He hissed, as he applied a few tight circles with his fingers to her clit, "-You're soaked."

His voice rumbled through her as a thirsty moan slipped past her lips. He touched her so languidly, rubbing her with a perfect pressure, just enough and not nearly enough, driving her crazy, all while building a rhythm that was flawlessly balanced between his fingers and the press of his hips behind her.

When she felt pliant against him, her head slack back on his shoulder, her gasps and praise escalating, he doubled down, increasing his pressure and speed as she writhed and moaned in front of him. Drunk in her pleasure, engrossed her unabashed enjoyment, he lost himself in the moment, focused only on this and her building orgasm. Betty gripped his wrists tightly, nails curling into his wrist bones, holding him hostage, relying on him to hold her up and steady as she chased down her climax. He was solid and dauntless and all too soon he heard and felt her breathing begin to catch, her moans hiccuping, knees buckling.

"That's it, Betts. Cum for me," He growled, nipping at her neck while pinching a perked nipple.

She came apart at the seams for him then, a loud sob of his name ringing in his ears as she trembled in waves of bliss under his command. Her climax ripped through her like lightning, electricity buzzing through her veins and exploding behind her eyes. He worked her gently back to earth with a few soft pets to her overstimulated flesh before removing his fingers, and holding her hip, pulling her firmly against himself.

"Jesus, Jughead." Betty gasped when she finally returned to her body.

Jughead laughed deeply, placing a few kisses on her neck and shoulder, "I couldn't help myself, you just-you looked so stunning standing here..." He confessed with a few more gentle kisses to her shoulder as he slowly eased her back to support herself again.

Betty turned within his arms, "I love you," She mused, leaning up to kiss him passionately.

He melted into her lascivious kiss, sinking into their firm embrace, "Come on, before we get carried away," He offered up breathlessly after a long nurse of lips.

She laughed lightly and leaned up to place a soft peck on his lips. He was right, of course, so she nodded and backed away from him, finally dropping her towel. She then quickly cleaned herself up, dressed, and combed her fingers through her hair. Jughead washed his hands, gathered his keys, his wallet, and a small bag to carry their drinks, and once Betty was ready, they left, hitting the lights on the way out.

They walked briskly, hand in hand, through the clear summer night to pick up their pie. As semi-regular customers, the guys at the pizza place graciously offered to remake their pizza, but Betty politely refused, starving, and wanting to avoid another wait. She would just rewarm it in the oven at home, anyway.

~~~

When they returned to the loft they ate their pizza in bed, while watching a movie. Stuffed and satisfied Betty fell asleep halfway through the flick, but he let her sleep and woke her up at midnight when the credits began to roll. She changed groggily from her earlier outfit into her fave well-worn blue 'S' t-shirt, used the bathroom quickly and crawled back into bed, curling up next to him.

She fell back asleep quickly, but Jughead stayed up, writing, surfing, planning, just generally being a shitty insomniac. When he finally fell asleep, it felt like it had been hours, however, only about an hour or so had passed before Betty started to shift and groan in her sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~
> 
> Comment! Come on, I know you wanna ;)


	8. Sensible Heart

_I hope to learn as time goes by,_  
_That I should trust what's deep inside._  
_Burning bright, oh burning bright,_  
_My sensible heart._

_~City and Colour - Sensible Heart ~_

~~~

Betty woke with a start in the middle of the night covered in a cold sweat, her head pounding. It was pitch dark, save for the silver gleam from the moon mixed with the street lamps eerie glow that poured through the slats of their blinds. All the same, she found the dim light offensive, forcing her to squint under the seemingly harsh glare. Surprisingly, Jughead was asleep as she rolled away from him and all but crawled to the bathroom. She made it in just enough time to toss up their pizza dinner, narrowly making it to the toilet at all.

Her retching was violent, deep and guttural and there was no way she didn't wake Jughead with its violence. Once the queasiness had subsided she waited further, breathless and covered in a thin sheen of sweat, anticipating more, before she was able to slump back from her keeled over position. Gingerly, she sat on the tiled floor, her back pressed to the cold glass of their shower stall. With one foot she pushed the bathroom door closed, though she was sure the noisy damage had already been done. She then wiped the sweat from her brow and dabbed around her mouth before tossing the paper and flushing the toilet. Taking a few deep and calming breaths now she silently begged that there not to be anything left in her stomach to heave up.

Slowly, Betty got up and took some ginger gravol and some ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet chased the pills with a large glass of water and waited again, the throbbing in her head making her feel lightheaded and dizzy. As she sat on the toilet in their nightlight lit bathroom she thought, hypothesized, and worried about what might have gotten her this violently ill. She had her speculations, but it had to be the pizza that had turned her stomach, she was borderline lactose intolerant, after all. Though now, due to the violence and speed of her sickness, she wondered if it was indeed food poisoning and if so was Jughead also afflicted? 

It wouldn't surprise her if he was fine and it was just her. There had been a few times over the years where his iron-clad stomach was unaffected by the nasty bacteriums, whereas her stomach was ultra sensitive to even the slightest of imbalances. But the headache and dizziness that accompanied her upset stomach tonight was new, and not common, at all. She hunched over, almost doubling in half before she braced her elbows on her knees, and waited for the painkillers to kick in. But, they were taking longer than usual, and the longer she sat and waited the more nauseated and dizzy she felt. She spent another almost half hour sitting, unmoving, breathing deep and waiting for a threatening retch that never came.

Finally, she felt stable enough to go back and lay down, so after some much-needed mouthwash and another glass of water, she padded back to bed. She slipped under the covers as gently as she could but Jughead was already awake before she had even pulled the sheets back.

"Are you ok?" Jughead mumbled blindly as Betty resumed her resting place next to him.

"My stomach isn't right," She groaned.

"Food poisoning?"

"I think so? I don't know. How do you feel?"

"Fine." He replied quietly, reaching out and rubbing her belly in soothing circles, "-Did you barf?"

"Yea." She grumbled with a sigh, but Jughead's touch seemed to help soothe her angry guts nearly instantly.

"Honey..."

"I feel ok now, but my head is killing me,"

"Can I help?" He asked, offering his free arm out to tuck under her neck, "-Can I get you something for the pain?"

"I took some stuff already, I think I just need to sleep it off," Betty commented, curling into Jughead's embrace.

With a long groan and a sigh, she nuzzled into him and fell back asleep quickly. Her body's desperate attempt to rid her stomach of the unsettling violation had clearly drained her energy, knocking her out cold.

But Jughead lay awake now, his pacifying caress migrating into her hair, sweeping escaped strands of blonde back and off her neck, face and shoulders. She felt extra warm against him tonight, but the back of his hand on her forehead didn't detect anything out of the ordinary in the midst of this warm summer night, he thought.

Still, he worried. He worried about tomorrow, worried she did have food poisoning, or that she was coming down with the flu. He worried that if she felt like this tomorrow, or rather, later today, all his birthday plans might be too much for her and if they were he needed to start planning now on how to postpone or alter his scheme. He tried not to worry too much about the semantics of her birthday and decided to keep his brain on things he could control, like cooking her birthday breakfast and taking care of her, should she need it. So he knew he needed to get some sleep if he was going to have any hope in hell of actually executing his plans. He kept his touch gentle and rhythmic, focused in on the ebb and flow of her breath all while allowing her steady breathing to lull him back to sleep.

~~~

The later that morning Betty woke up to the aromatic smell of coffee brewing, and the sweet sound of City and Colour paying softly from the Bluetooth speaker in their kitchen. She came to slowly, stretching out her achy muscles before she propped up on her elbows and peered at Jughead across their home while he made her birthday breakfast.

She watched him affectionately. He'd not noticed that she was awake yet as he was busy making pancakes; pouring, flipping, stacking and keeping the already made flapjacks warm in the oven. His bedhead hair was on full display, he always risked cooking shirtless, and this morning his shorts hanging deliciously low on his hips as he worked. The domestic view of him, like this, was simply enthralling, she thought.

"Hi," Betty squeaked out quietly. Her throat felt raw, but the pounding in her head was gone.

"Morning, birthday girl," Jughead replied as he turned the stove off and made his way to their bed, "-How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She confessed with another stretch, "-I think I got it out of my system before it could do any real damage."

"Good. I didn't know if you wanted coffee after last night, so I made you some tea with honey," He said sitting next to her still laying position.

"Tea would be nice." She replied as she watched him study her, his eyes seeking. His fingers tucked some loose hair behind her ear before the back of his hand came to rest on her forehead. He seemed pleased with her temperature and dropped his palm to her cheek, his thumb sweeping across her cheekbone.

"-What do you have cooking?" She asked, leaning into his touch.

"Pancakes. Not as good as yours, or Pop's. But I used your recipe, followed the instructions and everything." He said proudly with a wink.

Jughead was more a pinch of this or a dash of that kind of cook. He cooked to taste, which was great and exciting but that sometimes got him into trouble. Betty, on the other hand, was a recipe reading, accurate measuring, step following kind of cook, which also made her an excellent baker. Once she had a recipe memorized, then, and only then, would she tweak it, and then promptly document her changes. Her pancake recipe was one of those memorized recipes, tried and true and nearly impossible to ruin. Unless you didn't measure, which Jughead was guilty of, only twice.

"I'm sure they'll turn out great."

"I didn't make bacon or anything else because I didn't know if you'd have much of an appetite this morning. But there is some fruit salad,"

Betty nodded, she was hungry and felt none of the discomfort the experience the night before, aside for the telltale signs her body felt; a residual raw throat, sore muscles, sweat dried hair. However, no headache, or stomach issues or dizziness, just really, really tired.

"-Also, we can bail on our day in the city and hang out at home, if you don't feel up for a whole day out," Jughead offered as his touch drifted from her face to her shoulder and down the length of her arm to lace their fingers together.

A soft smile overtook her, "I feel fine, Juggie."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"I don't mind. We won't miss out on much." He replied while trying not to feel too disappointed.

"I'm fine, my love."

Little did she know, that he had planned for them to partake in all the typical touristy things they'd missed out on when they first moved to Seattle. Their cross-country trip after high school took a bit longer than they planned, and spending an extra day here or there along the way proved to catch up with them quickly. They moved into their apartment September 1st and Betty started school 4 days later. Their integration into life as a local in the Emerald City was swift, and Brigitte and Dexter were keen on showing them all the local's favourites, thus actively bypassing all the stereotypical 'must sees'. They had missed out on a lot of the token activities that the city had to offer; The Space Needle, The Great Wheel, The Underground City tour, A Sound Garden overlooking Lake Washington, and although Pike Place Market was one of the only acceptable tourist traps that some locals still enjoyed, they both hadn't been in quite some time, so that was on the agenda too.

He had a late lunch packed in a cooler and was planning on finishing their day together at Lisabeula Beach, one of their favourite spots to spend the day, to go and read, or talk or just sit and enjoy the view. A few weeks ago Betty had made mention of missing their spot so taking her there was on the top of his list today. The other events were of a take or leave type nature. He'd present her with the options, and she'd pick. Whatever they didn't have time for today could roll over into the rest of their holidays, but making it to Lisabeula Beach on Vashon Island before sunset was mandatory. The rest of their evening was centred around her surprise party. The gang was going to be at the loft at 7 pm and were expecting them home around 8 pm. The journey to Vashon involved a ferry ride, which, Jughead knew, would add to their travel time so he had to keep their schedule tight and secretly on point.

"As long as you're sure," He replied earnestly.

"I am," She replied softly, her free hand coming up to curl around the back of his neck. His eyes fluttered closed as she squeezed into his muscles, trying to ease his worry through her tender touch. He softened under her caress and bent in, allowing her to pull his lips down to hers.

Their kiss was sweet, gentle, unhurried, and very thorough, yet still, she felt that buzzing heat pooling at her center. With his arms hooked under her shoulders now, he touched his tongue to her lower lip, running it along the seam, sending light under her skin. She met his eagerness, sliding along with him in a well-practiced dance of lips and tongues, losing herself in the intimacy of their gentle morning make-out session. The low pleading groan that he let slip sent a thrill through her, rousing and nearly undeniable. But just as she arched against him, her fingers running into his soft hair, did her stomach grumble loudly.

Their combined huffed and light laughter broke their kiss and the heady spell they were currently under. He pulled back to look at her, his blue eyes blown but clear and ardent.

"Honey, I'm starving," She confessed with an abashed smile, feeling her nearly empty stomach flip slightly.

Jughead laughed, "Ok, let's eat,"

~~~

Breakfast was just as delicious as any she'd had at Pop's or otherwise and they both went in for seconds, while Jughead went for thirds and fourths.

"So, what are we doing today?" Betty asked as she stretched back atop her bar stool.

"Ok, so, the plan is that we're going to spend the afternoon on Vashon Island, at Lisabeula beach. But up until then, here are your options." Jughead said presenting Betty with a detailed list of places, and activities.

Her mouth dropped, her nerves a flutter as she looked over the handwritten list. It was compiled, and clear, and in his sharp penmanship and didn't her logophile heart nearly stop right then and there.

"Someone knows how to do some serious research," Betty gushed, clearly impressed with his sleuthing, organization and the thoroughness of his list.

Jughead grinned. He already knew he was skilled at gathering information, reorganizing it and fashioning it in a way that was easy to understand, but the compliment from her resonated in him all the same. His list was were broken down into categories; Food, View, Shop, and Fun and had about 5 options in every column, along with 'recommendations' or 'best known for' information pencilled in for each.

"This all looks amazing, Jug."

"So, what do you think? What do you want to do with our day?" He asked lightly.

Betty glazed over the expansive list again, she wanted to do everything. But, logic and a sensible heart prompted her to choose one activity for today, knowing that the ferry time to and from Vashon would eat up a sizable chunk of their day.

"Anything, Everything," Betty replied sweetly. Jughead chuckled at their 'inside' joke, the old go-to answer for possible adventures they were both all too keen on participating in, "-The market." She said more definitively.

"Sounds great."

~~~

Once they had finished eating and while Jughead cleaned up the dishes, Betty let herself into the bathroom to shower and run through her regular morning routine. She was excited for their day out but was also pensive as she went about her shower, thinking about nearly everything. She was dwelling a bit on a few topics while trying to glaze over others.

Though writing for the newspaper and her freelance work had kept her busy these past few months, she was beginning to dread the physical act of going into work. Not that she didn't enjoy being a journalist, she did, she just didn't love the job itself. She often felt censored, edited and forced into some stories as of late. Her side projects, however, brought her the kind of creative freedom her conservative job lacked. She too could sense that Jughead was itching to leave Seattle proper, and shockingly, desiring a lifestyle that they'd left behind in Riverdale. She felt it too, a tugging reminder of simpler times. He often called it ironic, that they both spent a large portion of their youth dreaming of leaving a place and lifestyle they now wanted to mirror. She just called it funny, and typical of their stubborn temperaments. They had always been people that needed to figure things out for themselves. No matter how many times they were told that they would inevitably miss the quiet, they needed to learn from experience and research, not just taking someone's word for gold. But they were still, in their hearts, just a couple of small-town kids living in a buzzing metropolis, when it came right down to it.

She had been dwelling on that fact for a while now, wanting the same quiet lifestyle that they had grown up with. Somewhere she could hear herself think, spend more time outside, somewhere, where maybe, she didn't have to work a standard 9 to 5 schedule. Somewhere where maybe they could both work from home. But most of all, somewhere that was truly theirs. The loft was theirs, in a sense, but it still belonged to someone else, and outside sources still controlled a vast majority of the goings on in and outside the building. They had been saving every single extra penny they had for the past 6 years of living there, calling the collection jar that sat on the kitchen island their 'big-picture jar'. Their big-picture dream was shared, and simple; a quiet home that they could call their own, with a big kitchen and an office or library, or both.

Everything else was inconsequential, as long as they were together.

~~~

After her shower, Betty chose her outfit for the day. She wanted to wear something comfortable with her walking shoes so she chose a soft yellow floral romper with a three-quarter sleeve. The fairly high cut of the shorts allowed comfort and movement but also showcased one of her (and Jughead's) favourite features; her legs. The top of the romper had a deep v neckline that blended seamlessly into a wrap that gathered at her hip. The outfit required a specific bra, however, and as Betty pulled the lacy white bra on with the plunging cups the fabric itched uncomfortably and rubbed in all the wrong places. She tried to ignorantly ignore the inconvenience and oped for a cotton number instead, even though the creamy coloured cups peeked out the bottom of the soft cut of her cleavage from time to time.

Jughead had gotten himself ready while she was in the shower, dressing in dark jeans and a short sleeve hunter green button down. His colour pallet of choice was always heavily black and blue inspired, so when he changed it up, she noticed, and he knew it. He sat on their couch reading as he patiently waited for her to get ready. She'd catch him staring at her from over the ridge of his book every now and then, his eyes giving away his smirk.

Betty gathered the last of her things into her purse and would bring a sweater with her in case the weather changed, which, it often did. Currently, as she loosely braided her hair, the weather outside was bright, and warm, and inviting but living in a coastal city meant unpredictable weather at a moments notice and through it was pleasant now, it might not be later.

"Ready?" He asked, his tone slightly mocking, while also innocently hopeful.

"Yup," She replied with a bit of pep.

~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~
> 
> Thank you for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts!!
> 
> This will be the only post I make in October, as I'm doing a wee bit of travelling this month.
> 
> But only 2 more chapters to go... o.O ...Like...What?!


	9. Guiding Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!
> 
> Thank you all for waiting :) My time away was lovely and long overdue.
> 
> Now I just can't wait for you guys to dig into this chapter. As some of you know I could have split this chapter into two, BUT I wanted you guys to have more rather than less, so enjoy this extra long installment!

_Cause' even when there is no star in sight,_  
_You'll always be my only guiding light._  
  
_Relate to my youth,_  
_Well, I'm still in awe of you._  
_Discover some new truth,_  
_That was always wrapped around you._  
  
_~ Mumford & Sons - Guiding Light ~_

~~~

They spent the day at Pike Place Market, perusing through vendor after vendor and shop after shop. They bought a few things on their journey; coffee, cheese, bread, some chocolate too. Jughead also insisted they buy Betty a pair of unique wooden earrings a local jeweller was selling and that his beloved was all but swooning over. They continued on, moving through the crowds fluidly while pausing to listen to street performers and buskers, or to watch local artists create ill-proportioned characters of paying tourists. 

  
People watching at it's finest, really, and all while hand in hand.  
  
They watched the fishmongers toss fish from leagues away from each other, yelling out local, verity and poundage, and chuckled at all the tourists with their cameras blocking their own view. Betty stood slightly behind Jughead as they took in the spectacle, her face buried in the fabric covering his bicep, trying her best to breathe him in instead of the pungent, stomach-turning, fish stench. But, judging by his slightly wrinkled nose as they gawked, he found the overwhelming smell offensive too.  
  
By mid-afternoon, Betty started to lag a bit in her steps so Jughead suggested that they start making their way to the ferry. She agreed and they headed out to Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal with the windows down, and the music blaring. The almost 30-minute journey to the terminal felt pleasantly longer, the drive taking on a hint of nostalgia as they came to the water's edge. It was a stark reminder of their long drives back in Riverdale, or of their cross-country trip, reviving that splendid ease of travel together.  
  
They had just missed the previous ferry and had to wait in line for a little while before being allowed to board the next vessel. Once parked on the lower decks, they migrated up to the top deck and found a nice vantage spot to sit. Though the sun was still shining Betty wrapped herself up in her sweater as they took in the windy view on their 45-minute journey to Vashon Island.  
  
Jughead rested his arm across her shoulders and the backrest of their bench as Betty crossed her legs towards him while resting into his embrace. With a synchronized, deep, and contented sigh they watched the water and scenery pass by slowly as the ship cruised through the vast channels between rocky coastal islands.  
  
Betty couldn't help but smile, because all in all this was her ideal day, regardless of her birthday. She loved nothing more than a day spent with nature and her love and felt lucky today, and every day since ambushing him in the spring. Still, she kept the oddity of their distance close, as a sobering reminder of what was once lost. Though sometimes it was a fine line between remembering and dwelling, indeed.  
  
She swiftly shook the spiral from her mind and turned a smile to Jughead, "You're going to have a really hard time topping this birthday," She said lightly, before resting her head on his shoulder again.  
  
He smiled down at her, pulling his grip around her tighter, hoping that the fluttering in his chest had gone unnoticed. He swallowed thickly, nerves sparked at the low timbre of her voice and the unknown double entendre of her words. He didn't risk saying anything though, because keeping secrets from her was never quite his forte.  
  
'You have no idea.' He simply thought to himself.  
  
~~~  
  
Once the ferry docked and they debarked the boat, the drive to Lisabeula Park seemed quick. There couldn't have been a better day with the warm weather holding, and so they continued their drive with the windows down again, music still cranked. Judging by the parking lot as they arrived, they weren't the only ones taking advantage of this beautiful West Coast Sunday. But the park itself was well over 5 acres, so the chances of people cramping in on their space were minimal.  
  
From the parking lot they walked hand in hand, Betty carrying their lightly packed backpack, Jughead carrying their cooler. Light banter and laughter ebbed and flowed as they followed the familiar trailhead to the ocean. From the tree line, the path spilled them out onto fine and gravelly sand, with patches of driftwood creating a natural path to a perfect sandy and partly shady location. Through an unspoken communication they chose their spot, and as Betty took in the balmy sun and horizon, Jughead laid out their thin blanket. He then sat, opened up the cooler, and cracked himself a drink, before toeing off his sneakers.  
  
Betty also wasted no time in kicking her shoes off, however, she was drawn to the sparkling waves of their shoreline. Of course, she was first to dip her toes in, she usually was, and though it was still cold it was completely refreshing. Shortly thereafter Jughead joined her as Betty wadded into her knees, the waves lapping cooly at his ankles as he watched her fondly.  
  
~~~  
  
The rest of their afternoon was spent sunning, snacking and relaxing. The conversation always came freely, but they were the type of people that didn't need to fill the silence with small talk. So long silences were never awkward and as they enjoyed the pre-sunset colours over the water Betty let out an another deep, serene sigh.  
  
"So far so good?" Jughead asked lightly, pushing gold locks away from her cheek.  
  
"So very good," Betty replied with ease.  
  
She'd been laying on her side with her head in his lap for the past hour or more now, talking, but mostly just staring off into the beginnings of the sunset, watching the waves, making the occasional awed observations or striking realizations, pointing out wildlife and other natural wonders. She then moved to push herself upright, sitting cross-legged next to him now, her shins pressed to the length of his thigh. He gave her a side smirk and handed her a drink while he straightened his own posture.  
  
"To my beloved on her birthday," Jughead said in a sweeping declaration, raising his drink to tip and tap it to Betty's.  
  
She reciprocated to motion with another loving smile before joining him in their toast. They both took a quick sip moments before Betty was taking his drink from this hand and placing it along aside hers on the sturdy cooler lid.  
  
"Thank you so much for today," Betty confessed, moving in closer.  
  
"You're welcome." He replied turning to lean into her inconspicuous advance.  
  
He watched her lips curve into a soft smile, teeth pinching the inside bottom pillow. The diminutive action was just so god damn alluring, so minuet, so...Betty, that the tick unfurled a buzzing current which felt trapped under his skin. He let out a sigh as her eyes dropped down to his mouth and without hesitation, he bent in, welcoming her arms around his neck as his eyes fell closed. With a whimper, her lips slanted against his in a hungry kiss and as she moved to deepen the exchange further she came up on her knees next to him too. His hands moved over her hips and around to the swell of her ass while the warm, smooth motion of their kiss pressed into him.  
  
Jughead knew that if he let them get carried away, they would. It wouldn't be the first or last time they had done something like this in a subtly public area. But, he had other plans for tonight. Plans that required brain function, and blood flow, and composure, and articulation, and blood flow to help facilitate all said functions. So he slowed his roll, and eased them out of this deliciously heated frenzy, by kissing across her jaw and up to her forehead. He paused there, hands still holding her low on her hip and ass. She seemed to welcome the pause, her breaths panting ever so slightly, so he took advantage and pushed her gently by the hips to sit back. In that same motion, he turned his seated body to face her, while trapping and harnessing his adrenaline and using it as courage. He knew if he waited for another breath he'd either chicken out, or kiss her again, and though one feat was far more tempting than the other, he was on a mission, his plan already set in motion, and backing out now was not an option.  
  
"Betts, there have honestly been countless moments over the 20 years we've known each other that have made me certain you are the only woman for me." Jughead said in soft earnest, brushing a few stray blonde hairs behind her ear again, his other hand resting atop her thigh, "-But being without you...was a real eye-opener." He continued on with a sad shake of his head, "-You are my match, Betty. My missing piece. My other half. My one and only."  
  
Betty grinned graciously because, at first, she didn't fully realize what was going on. They had been talking so freely and openly and so much lately that Jughead's heartfelt confession now didn't seem that out of place or particularly pointed. But as she watched him take a deep breath, and listened to his exhale shuttering slightly did she finally sense that something was most certainly 'up'.  
  
"-I never want to be without you." Jughead continued, his gaze dropping from her eyes to his long fingers splayed across her creamy skin.  
  
She melted, her own words coming back to her in the form of his shaky confession. For some reason, she felt like she was gulping for air, nerves alight, her heart racing. She had noticed throughout the afternoon that he was guarding their backpack with his life, and though he had allowed her to carry it, she wasn't welcome to simply grab what she needed from its depths. He kept it close, covertly got everything needed from within it, and even gave her the napkins from inside when she spilled, stopping her abruptly when she tried to reach in and help herself. To the untrained eye, all this might have gone unnoticed, but to her, it seemed...off. And as his hand slid deep into the backpack to produce a sleek black velvet box with a shiny gold trim, she understood why.  
  
Betty's eyes went wide as Jughead gestured for her to hold out her already shaking hand with a slight nod of his head. He then placed the box in her palm, turning it so that the opening was facing her, all while watching her carefully. Bringing the small receptacle closer Betty felt her eyes well up with tears. Slowly she creaked the box open and pillowed inside was an antique looking ring; solid gold, with 3 tasteful diamonds, and detailed art deco curves and notches in the band. She breathed in a soft gasp as the outside light caught the crystal clear diamonds, and her free palm clutched at her heart.  
  
Jughead tempered, slightly, at her reaction, but his rambling beast had been set free, so he continued his keyed-up, yet rehearsed rant.  
  
"This ring has been passed down through Jones generations, and it was made in the 30's. My gramma gave it to JellyBean when she was little, not trusting that my dad wouldn't sell it." Jughead confessed with a sad chuckle. "-Before we left Riverdale, Jelly gave it to me." He continued, never veering his gaze from her. "-As long as I promised to only give it to you." He finished with smirking conviction.  
  
She was fairly certain that she let out some kind of whimpering sob at the thoughtfulness of the Jones siblings, and could she speak she might have said something like: 'oh that's so sweet', or 'typical Jelly'. But instead, she kept silent, staring at the ring, then at his eager blue eyes, and back to the ring again.  
  
"You've had this for 6 years?" Betty finally asked softly, the misplaced question was, unfortunately, all she was able to string together thus far.  
  
Jughead gulped and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Uh...Yea..." He mumbled, suddenly sounding very panicked. "-I was going to give it to you after your graduation, but..."  
  
But; the great unrest.  
  
She sat silently, stomach doing backflips, as he looked on in wordless worry. She could tell, obviously, that he was waiting for her to speak again, to say something else, or to move, or anything. But again, she sat frozen, feeling like she might throw up, hand covering her heart, the ring still pocketed in its case. The thought of him hanging on to this precious piece of jewelry for that long was such a romantic gesture, that it quite nearly pained her. She realized in that moment of certain clarity why their break up seemed so sudden and harsh. He'd been waiting for her, waiting, and planning and supporting, and biding his time until she was finished with her school obligations. But she was so blind and so blindly ambitious by the end, that she missed all the signs he was most certainly laying out for her. Now, for the first time ever, she fully understood why he wouldn't marry her in Vegas, why he threw that borderline ultimatum at her, why he pushed her away, and why he ran.  
  
"-I know we haven't been back together for very long, but I don't want to wait anymore," Jughead explained as he lowered his eyes again. "-Everything is better with you by my side."  
  
He couldn't keep looking at her, the longer he gazed at her, strangely, the more unsure he felt. Her silence was unnerving, her blank expression was unnerving, the fact that the ring was still in the fucking box was...unnerving.  
  
'Shit...she's not ready...Fuck!'  
  
His pulse rose instantly, full-blown panic starting to course through his veins while she still sat silently. But he shook his panic as best he could. He trusted her more than anyone else in the world, goddammit, and there was no way in hell that he had misread how great their relationship was again, none at all.  
  
So he steeled himself, "-I never want to be without you." He said once again.  
  
And even through her endured silence, he continued, coming up on both knees before her, his toes pushing into the sand behind him, finally saying the words that she was unknowingly waiting for him to utter.  
  
"-Will you marry me, Betty Cooper?" Jughead asked hopefully, looking up at her from only slightly below.  
  
Betty's mouth fell slack, and she willed her words to come forward, she really did. The correct and most natural answer was on the tip of her tongue, but she was at a loss. She just couldn't shake the thought of him holding on to a wedding ring for 6 fucking years. He would have had it through their whole cross-country trip, and over their first Christmas in Seattle and the following one in Riverdale, on countless adventures, and at all holidays, birthdays, parties and weddings since. He would have been sitting on it while they drifted apart, and the whole time they were separated too.  
  
"-Betty?" His soft voice jolted her out of her morose thoughts.  
  
"Yes." Betty said abruptly, through a crack in her voice. She watched his brow furrow before she cleared her throat and spoke a much more confident: "-Yes."  
  
"Yes?!"  
  
She nodded vigorously, skin covered in goosebumps, grinning wide, moments before throwing herself against him, and toppling them both over. He wrapped around her in an instant, absorbing their fall with his body and a laugh, vaguely registering the ring case snapping shut on impact. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, lips pressed to the long slope of her neck as she repeated that sweet 3 letter word over and over against his ear.  
  
Slowly, Jughead sat them both up, but kept her in his lap, her knees flanking his hips. With one hand on her lower back, he fished for the jewelry case with the other, finding it still clenched inside her hand. She had lowered her limbs to rest against his chest and moved to open the box. He then took the loop from its case as Betty dropped the box absently in their lap. She watched, bewitched, captivated, and delighted, as his strong nimble fingers slid the cool metal onto her left ring finger. He then curled his fingers under hers and brought her knuckles to his lips, kissing each ridge before coming back to kiss the knuckle above and below her ring. A lupine smile tugged at his mouth while he ogled her hand as if it was all fully sinking in for him in that instant. But she felt it too, and come up to cup his cheeks, tilting his gaze up to her again before kissing him slowly. He groaned and held her by the waist once more, her body soft and heavy in his lap, her hands warm against his skin, the cool metallic element a searing reminded that she had just, in fact, said 'yes'. The thought stirred him and he sank further into their kiss, running his tongue smoothly with hers as she keenly moved against him.

"Now you really are going to have a hard time topping this birthday," Betty joked a little breathlessly as she pulled back from his lips.  
  
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to," Jughead replied while kissing across her jaw, his lips resting against the shell of her ear."-I hope that's ok," He finished with a light teasing glint to his voice.  
  
Betty chuckled, "Mmm, a small sacrifice," She breathed out as he kissed the soft space below her ear.  
  
"Come on, let's get you home and changed. We have fancy dinner reservations," He whispered, lying right through his shit eating grin.  
  
~~~  
  
While they walked back to the truck, Jughead told Betty the whole story of how he'd come to choose today, and she listened intently, watching him grin wide through the whole retelling. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him smile so wide or so much. 

Still shining, they happily loaded up their things and hit the road back home. During the journey, when Betty wasn't admiring her ring in the setting sunlight, she was peppering kisses to every inch of his skin that she could reach while still buckled in. Jughead would chuckle and lean into her touch, or find his hand high up on her thigh or his fingers toying with the warm gold band set around her slim digit as he drove.

As Betty finally gathered her thoughts and promptly threw herself into his arms with a resounding 'yes!' Jughead felt as though he had finally let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding, that a time-honoured weight had finally been lifted off his chest. He knew in his youth that marriage was, more often than not, far from perfect, and though he wasn't keen on being tied down to any one place or person, Betty chipped away at that. Truth was, she chipped away at him like she always did until she was the only person he could ever see himself being with forever. And now that she had said yes? Well, he wasn't sure if he could smile any wider or if he had ever been happier.

~~~

By the time they got home, however, and got their things to their front door Betty was nearly climbing him; pawing, gripping, and pulling at him, coaxing him with her smooth, sensual, shifting against him.  
  
He hadn't thought this part through.  
  
With hungry eyes fixed on him she dropped their backpack and pushed the cooler from his hands, then skillfully ran her hands up his chest and curled her fingers around his shirt lapels. The rush of movement had them coming together at a fever pitch, lips knitting together perfectly in a passionate near desperate kiss.  
  
He really hadn't thought this part through.  
  
So he gave into her, his hands on her lower back and ass, because, sweet merciful fuck, how could he not? But, he knew something she didn't, something that had him withholding from indulging her, fully. Still, he had to play along, you know, for fear of spoiling the surprise and whatnot. Such a small price to pay, as she skillfully unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt while kissing him sensually.  
  
She yanked at him again and stumbled back against the mudroom door with a soft thud. Her one hand slipped around the back of his neck, holding him to her lips, while the other hand dropped to the doorknob, where he promptly stopped her.  
  
"Betts," He mumbled, holding her by the flare of her hip and her fist on the doorknob. "-I have one more surprise,"  
  
"Let's skip the fancy dinner," She whispered against his lips, "-I'm hungry from something else anyway," She added in coyly.  
  
Jughead groaned, deliberately keeping his lips slightly away from hers, "It's something else,"  
  
"Can't it wait?" She asked on a heavy breath, nudging his nose to move her lips over his again.  
  
Melting into her plea he kissed her back eagerly, instinctively moving in between her thighs, nudging her knees apart, and pushing her up against the door as their mouths moved methodically. He growled when she hitched her leg over his hip and rolled herself against him, but, somehow, by some kind of kismet guidance, he pried himself away from her addictive lips to answer, "Uh, goddammit. It kinda can't wait," He sighed, pressing his forehead to hers.  
  
"What is it?" She asked as Jughead pulled back to appraise her flushed appearance, and admire the twinkle of light that caught the stones in her ring.  
  
He stepped back a bit further, holding her by both hips, "Let's...just...Let's just take a few deep breaths, yea?"  
  
Betty frowned playfully, "Fine..." She did as instructed and watched him do the same, taking his cue and adjusting her clothing as well.  
  
"Take my hand," He said, and she did, "-Close your eyes and no peeking!" He instructed next.  
  
Betty obeyed but stuck her tongue out at him in defiance. She felt the rush of cool air fan over her as he opened the door to their loft, he guided her into their space and though the temptation was grand she resisted the urge to peak. She heard scurrying around before she felt Jughead at her side again.  
  
"Open your eyes,"  
  
The moment she did everyone she loved jumped to attention and screamed: "Surprise!"  
  
Archie, Veronica, Kevin, JB, Polly, Steve, Brinn, Brigitte, Dexter, and a dozen or so other close Seattle friends all bust from their hiding spots sporting party hats, and throwing streamers or sounding their noisemakers. Small confetti guns shot coloured paper shreds into the air as a dozen or so balloons fell from their ceiling rafters.  
  
The joy and surprise were simply overwhelming and Betty burst into tears immediately upon seeing everyone there, for her. Kevin and Veronica rushed to hug the emotional blonde, sandwiching her in love. Though the disappointment that flashed across Betty's face, as Jughead released her and stood aside for their friends to encase her in affection, was adorably heartwarming.  
  
Betty wasn't sure what she was doing, a whirlwind combination of emotion, laughter and tears fully claimed her. She hugged her dear friends back but wasn't able to get ahold of her emotions just yet, she quite honestly felt like the epitome of a hot mess. So she just held them tight and cried, and laughed, and praised, and apologized.  
  
"Betty, you are absolutely glowing! Diamonds look amazing on you!!" Kevin exclaimed happily. As they broke away from their hug his hand slipped down to her left hand, grasping it and pulling it up to eye level, "-This ring though?! Modest, tasteful, beautiful, priceless. Just. Like. You." He said as he examined her ring finger.  
  
"Thanks, Kev. I just, I really can't, I mean, I can't believe today..." She mumbled less than eloquently, wiping her cheeks with her free hand.  
  
"Believe it, B," Veronica replied, "-Jug has been planning all this for a month. However, he only let us in on his proposal plans last week,"  
  
"You've known all week?!"  
  
"You don't know how difficult our Skype call the other day was for me," Veronica confessed, bringing the back of her delicate hand to her forehead, and feigning a swoon.  
  
"Oh, you poor thing," Kevin teased looking around to jab at Jughead as well, but coming up short, "-At least Jughead told you, I had to find out through Archie, of all people!"  
  
"Jug told us and called you 2 days later, it's not his fault that you saw Archie first and that boy can't keep a secret to save his life," Veronica reasoned.  
  
~~~  
  
Their light mingling continued with Betty, Kevin and Veronica joining the rest of the crew. Everyone pressed Betty for time and details and she kindly filled in the blanks. She then caught up with Polly as well as JB, crying and laughing and bouncing with enjoyment. She pulled each sister aside and thanked them purposefully for making the trip out.  
  
The Cooper sisters talked quickly about Riverdale, Polly's part-time job at Pop's, her online courses and the kids; who were in school now. Both June and TJ were a head-strong, high energy combination of both Blossom and Cooper blood and were giving Alice more grays and wrinkles than she knew what to do with.  
  
Her conversation with JB was slightly longer, as she needed to get the inside scoop on the ring from the source. They had long since buried the hatchet after the breakup, and JB had apologized profusely for her involvement it the spiral. At this point though, it was water under the bridge, and Betty knew she would have done the same for Polly if the roles were reversed. All the same, JB and Betty were as close as they had ever been, or maybe even more so now. And she couldn't help but grin wide as Jelly regaled her with the story of how she came to have the ring, and when she had decided that Betty, and no one else, deserved the heirloom.  
  
"It's always been you for him. And you're like a sister to me, you deserve this."  
  
"Thank you, Jelly."  
  
"Absolutely, B. Sorry you had to wait so long," She replied with a wink.  
  
~~~  
  
Jughead allowed everyone to shower Betty with attention for a while as he brought the rest of their things inside and tended to a few party details. Archie helped him, congratulating him lightly with a firm slap on the back. As they conversed the boys went to the kitchen and poured their girls each a celebratory glass of white wine while Archie grabbed a beer and Jughead grabbed himself a soda from the fridge. When they rejoined the group, Jughead passed Betty her wine glass and proceeded to gush and thank everyone for coming and for their help in his organization.  
  
"To our guest of honour!" Brigitte said, raising her glass in the air.  
  
"To the happy couple!" Archie clarified with a bright smile.  
  
The gang all raised a toast while yelling, whooping and downing their drinks of choice. After clinking with everyone around her Betty purposefully turned to Jughead last and tapped her glass to his aluminum can.  
  
"Happy birthday, my love." He said softly, his eyes filled with that warm adoration she'd grown so accustomed to.  
  
"I love you." She replied simply, before taking a sip.  
  
A few of their work friends with kids at home needed to tuck out early, so they came by and congratulated the joyful couple again for good measure. Betty set her glass aside to hug them each goodbye, then Jughead walked them to the door.  
  
Brinn quickly caught Betty's attention next and pulled her in for a long, much-appreciated hug. She spent a fair amount of time chatting with Brinn, who (with Steve) was on route to Canada for the summer. Timing was immaculate for them, as they were set to cross the border the very next day. Over the years Brinn and Betty had kept in mild contact, emailing two or three times a year. Checking up and checking in. Betty had come clean about her and Jughead's little white marriage lie all those years ago, and though Brinn had been thankful for her honestly, she was convinced that the pair were destined for the alter all the same. So she was quick to tell Betty: 'I told you so', now.  
  
"What a wonderful surprise," Brinn said as she and Betty spoke closely.  
  
"A complete surprise,"  
  
"And JB said that this was their gramma's?" She asked as she took Betty's hand to inspect the ring.  
  
"Passed down through generations,"  
  
Brinn sighed dreamily, "I love a good heirloom,"  
  
"It's so beautiful." Betty gushed, "-I feel really proud to wear it, too. Is that weird?" She asked the older woman. The ring on her finger felt strange and familiar all at once. Tiny, warm and enchanting, she was far too aware of the weight of it on her hand, the press of it against her skin, and yet it felt comfortable, reassuring...right. She had always found that the act of wearing a wedding ring to be one of the only traditional marriage customs that spoke to her, and felt it held a whimsical yet physical reminder of one's beloved. Adding the historical and family factor to this particular wedding ring was simply otherworldly.  
  
"Not at all, hold onto that feeling. Not everyone gets to say that about something so special and symbolic. Most engagement rings come from a generic jewelry store in a mall somewhere." Brinn replied sensibly.  
  
Betty chuckled and nodded, her fingers spinning the warm metal around her finger freely. A short silence fell between the two of them as they both scanned the party. Betty smiled as she watched the pockets of people interact, a mix of her old and new lives blending together seamlessly. She caught sight of Jughead across the room, his attention occupied in conversation with JB and Fletcher, that same humble smile still cemented on his lips since they left Vashon Island.  
  
Steve joined the ladies from the kitchen to ask for a tour, fawning over the old building, and sneaking in a brief history lesson about the area. Betty graciously showed them around, shared stories and jokes, told tales of parties and holidays gone by, and even offered to take them up to the rooftop deck to take in the bird's eye view of the city.  
  
The trio slipped from the party with a short pit stop explanation to Jughead, who was now in the kitchen chatting Archie and Dexter up. He leaned in and kissed Betty's cheek, his free hand slipping across her lower back, surging heat through her in welcome waves, and if she wasn't careful she would have lost herself in his familiar touch in a blink of an eye. He seemed to notice this, so with a half smirk he squeezed her hip and gave her another kiss with some finality to it, before turning her towards her awaiting wayfarers.  
  
~~~  
  
The warm summer breeze was a burst of welcome bliss as Betty opened the heavy door that led to their unofficial rooftop patio. Steve talked of how he and Brinn had lived in the emerald city in the late 80's, and how great it had been but that it was, unfortunately, short-lived too, while Brinn simply silently stepped to the railing and admired the sparkling city skyline.  
  
Once they had their fill Betty allowed them back into the building but lagged behind a bit. Brinn protested, of course, however, the younger woman assured her that she was more than fine and just needed a bit more fresh air. Reluctantly still, Brinn and Steve joined the party, leaving Betty alone, for the first time all day.  
  
Not 5 minutes later Veronica found Betty still frozen in her spot, spaced out, dazed and leaning. "Hon, what are you doing up here?"  
  
"I came up to give Brinn and Steve a tour," Betty blurted out, slightly startled.  
  
Veronica arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow at her, no doubt noticing her lack of company and her relaxed lean against the building. Betty knew she only had a few moments to spare before someone came looking for her anyway. She was the guest of honour, as Brigitte had put it. But she had started to feel overwhelmed downstairs again and while she didn't want to cause a scene, she almost jumped at an excuse to leave the party, even if it was for a knowingly short amount of time.  
  
"-I just needed some air, it's been a crazy day." She offered honestly.  
  
"Emotional, no doubt," Veronica suggested lightly.  
  
The blonde nodded, "I'm just so glad you're here, V." She admitted.  
  
"Of course, we had to be here to help our best friends celebrate this momentous occasion"  
  
Betty couldn't hold this weight any longer, she looked to her friend, digging deep to find the right words to express her disquiet.  
  
She swallowed thickly, "It might be more momentous soon,"  
  
"What do you mean?" Veronica asked almost absently until she saw the look of panic that crossed her friend's features, "-Betty? What do you mean?" She adjusted her voice to match her worry as she looked her dear companion over.  
  
Betty turned and braced her elbows on the buildings ledge, her chin cradled in both her hands, fingers against her cheekbones. She glazed over her neighbourhood, it's lights and sights, before fixing on the towering mountains in the dusky distance. She took a deep breath, swallowed her nerves once again and spilled out her worry.  
  
"I'm late," Betty confessed, her limbs heavy with how much weight those small words held.  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ?!?
> 
> Well?! What do we think? 
> 
> A word of warning, I don't live in Seattle OR the US for that matter. But I do a fair bit of travelling and have been to Seattle and Vashon Island more than a few times. Please forgive me if my facts aren't spot on, also kindly remember that this is fiction and that I write for the feels...and not so much for the facts. 
> 
> Thank you :)


	10. Stellar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well friends... This is it... The end...
> 
> I can't thank you all enough for your support and encouragement through the pages, I would have quit long ago if it wasn't for all of you. 
> 
> So, thank you from the bottom of my hopless romantic heart for sticking it out and believing in me and in this Bughead. 
> 
> Words cannot convey my appreciation.

_How do you do it?_  
_Make me feel like I do._  
_How do you do it?_  
_It's better than I ever knew._  
_You are stellar._

_~ Incubus - Stellar ~_

~~~

Having not yet set it aloud, Betty instantly started to cry. Big, rolling, unabashed tears. She buried her face in her hands and cried a few hard sobs, as Veronica came over to console her.

"Late...like...'late'?" Veronica asked tentatively, soothing a hand across Betty's shoulders.

"Yes,"

"Has this happened before?"

"No,"

"How late?"

"A month." Betty sighed, "-Almost 2?"

Veronica's big brown eyes went wider, "Have you taken a test?"

"No, but..." Betty paused for a long breath because something in her gut told her this wasn't a false alarm, then last night's mystery illness struck, nearly solidifying her speculations.

When she and Jughead had broken up she stopped taking the pill, and since rekindling their romance she hadn't been as diligent with taking her birth control as she was pre-split. So the chances of something like this happening were well within the realm of inventible. Still, she didn't expect something like this to happen this quickly.

"-I'm almost certain." She admitted.

"Have you told Jughead?"

"No,"

"Why?"

"I don't know!" Betty burst out sobbing harder, pouring her face into both her hands yet again.

"It's ok, B. Let's go get you a test. Find out for sure. Then you can talk to Jug," Ronnie soothed, one hand on Betty's arm the other still running big sweeping circles across her back.

"We can't just leave," Betty argued, she calmed her breathing, fingers fiddling with her 'new' engagement ring. She could hear the slight thumping of the bass downstairs, the hum of conversation, the bursts of laughter that accompanied the party.

"It's your birthday, and you're the bride to be, you can do whatever the fuck you want. The sooner you embrace that, the better being affianced will be, my dear,"

"Unless I'm pregnant,"

"Especially if you're pregnant! God, no one in their right mind would deny a pregnant bride." Veronica smiled, gently turning Betty toward the roof access door, "-Let's go get you some finality, ease your the worry a bit, hmm?"

Betty nodded slowly, not sure of how they were going to pull this off inconspicuously. But Veronica was cunning, and after sending a few quick texts she tucked her phone away and gave Betty a curt nod.

"Do you have your phone?" Veronica asked.

"Yes."

"Wait here. I'll text when the coast is clear. Make a direct line for the exit, don't stop for anyone, and don't stop until you reach the curb outside, I will meet you there,"

"Ok,"

Veronica went back to the party below, and a few short moments later Betty's phone chimed. She followed Veronica's instructions, walking directly from the rooftop deck, through her house, down the stairs and then outside. She waited on the curb for a few short breaths before her raven-haired friend joined her.

The girls linked arms and made their way to a late night coffee shop a block down for a few drinks, then promptly marched across the street to the 24hr drug store where Veronica bought 3 different tests, 'to be absolutely sure'. The cashier gave the girls a knowing and sympathetic smile as she processed Veronica's credit card.

Then they drank up on the coffee shop's patio, and Veronica passed Betty her mostly full lemonade too, encouraging her to finish the majority before heading inside. The coffee shop was dead at this late hour with some kind of new wave pop playing a notch too loud over the speakers. The ultra-trendy barista barely looked up from her phone as the girls made their way to the back of the shop, where the bathrooms were located.

Betty took her shopping bag into the stall and frowned at her outfit. She nearly had to disrobe fully before she was able to comfortably follow the boxes instructions. So, carefully, with hands shaking, and eyes welling she executed each step, grateful that she had enough in her tank for multiple tests.

Thankfully, as Betty was going through the motions, Veronica sat on the sink vanity and explained, in depth and detail, all the new design opportunities she had available to her, and the pros and cons of each project, presumably to make sure her flustered friend didn't feel any kind of pee pressure. She went on and on candidly but, honestly, Betty couldn't really hear anything other than the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

After each test was complete Betty lined them up on top of the toilet tank, pulled her clothing back together and exited the stall. She gave Ronnie a worried stare as she washed her hands next to her childhood friend.

"It's going to be fine, B." Veronica said calmly, "-You both want kids eventually right?"

"Eventually," Betty mumbled as she rubbed her hands dry.

"Well, you guys have always done things a bit differently,"

"We haven't even been back together very long,"

"So?"

"So?! I don't know!" Betty huffed as she started to pace in front of her friend, "-We've been working on trust and communication, and I've been keeping this from him!"

"Well, it's not like you knew for sure. Not until..." Veronica checked the timer on her phone and took a deep breath before continuing, "-another 7 minutes from now." She finished with a small smile.

But, subconsciously Betty had known something was 'off' weeks ago and didn't say anything. To anyone. She just sat on it. Let it gnaw at the back of her mind. Let it fester and take root deep in her thoughts all while waiting for a monthly ritual that never came. Her hunch was so acute that she hadn't been drinking, aside from her celebratory sip this evening, and she was already nearly positive her intuition was correct.

"I've known..." Betty sighed.

Veronica wilted and shook her head, her face full of sympathy and the utmost support, "You'll tell him. If it is negative he'll be happy you told him and if it's not, he'll be thrilled. Either way, the outlook looks hopeful."

"I know," She relented, because deep down she knew everything would be ok, regardless of those little plastic fortune tellers had to say.

Yet still, Betty continued to press a path into the hard tile floor below her feet, wringing her hands impatiently, her fingers toying with the warm metal of her engagement ring, yet again. She kept looking to Veronica for the time, but the dark-haired beauty continued to give her a soft smile while she shook her head no.

So, the girls waited, for what felt like years, until, finally, Veronica's timer chimed. Betty froze, her eyes wide, stomach in her throat.

"We are all here for you guys. Whatever these little plastic sticks say, we've got you." Veronica said, her voice even as she rubbed up and down Betty's arms.

"I don't think I can look,"

"Ok," Veronica said lightly. She hopped off the counter and turned on a heel before heading into the stall.

She looked through each test delicately as a small smile crept across her face. "They're all positive, B."

Betty's heart stopped, breath trapped in her lungs, she felt that the ground was about to open up and swallow her whole. This couldn't be real. She immediately began to pin the blame and bad timing on herself. How could she have been so foolish? So neglectful? So absent? This was not the plan, like, at all. And it surely wasn't the plan now that she and Jughead were so very freshly engaged. Fuck! What would she tell him? How would she tell him?

"P-positive?" Betty mumbled stepping on shaky legs towards her friend.

"Every one, without a doubt," Veronica said as she turned to face Betty. Clearly, her worry was written plain all over her face, so Veronica began to reassure her once again, "-It'll all be ok, I promise. Take a deep breath. Let's get you back home. I'll subtly break up the party up so you guys can talk."

~~~

Veronica led Betty back to her apartment, though she really didn't remember leaving the coffee shop bathroom at all, and defiantly didn't remember the walk home. She was running through every scenario imaginable, thinking about what all this new information really meant. Her worry was wrapped up in telling Jughead, but as she thought about it more, she became more worried about what it all meant for the rest of their lives. Jughead's even temperament assured her that she had nothing to worry about from him, but her own temperament and ideals of what she had hoped to achieve before this moment weighed her down, leaving her with a low feeling of dread.

At the ground floor entrance of their building, Veronica stopped Betty's truant steps, turning the blonde to face her dead on. "This is good news, B. Shocking, but good news none the less. "

Betty nodded absently, brows drawn tightly together, that dry tightening clutching at her throat again, tears threatening to spill over. She tipped her head up to the sky, to try and keep the waterworks at bay. She breathed deep, shaky, and deliberate breaths, while trying to gather her running emotions.

"Thank you, V," Betty said as she came back to look at her friend again.

"Absolutely."

"You'll be my maid of honour, right?"

Veronica's face softened even further, her head tilting slightly, "Absolutely," She repeated.

"I can't imagine anyone else,"

Veronica nodded knowingly, "When we go inside, be cool. Unless you want the news to break early,"

Betty straightened with a more assertive nod and pulled the hem of her shorts down, wiped her cheeks clear of moisture, and got stray mascara streak approval from Veronica before going inside and climbing back up to the party. They slipped back in without issue, strategically splitting ways as they gathered with everyone else in the common areas.

~~~

Less than an hour later, as promised, Veronica broke the party up, gently and covertly. Betty had pushed her happiness from the day forward, locking up her bombshell news while putting on a composed, carefree face, and though she was convincing, she couldn't be more relieved to see Veronica herd people towards the exit. Everyone then bid the happy couple goodbye, showering them in love and well wished before Veronica was practically shooing them out the door.

As Jughead put away leftovers Betty ushered Archie, Veronica, and JB out and closed the door behind them all. She then let out a deep sigh of relief as she realized just how exhausted she truly was. However, her wicked nerves buzzed right through her exhaustion as she thought about how exactly she was going to tell her news to Jughead.

She knew he wanted kids, again, deep down, she knew he was going to be right thrilled. But, she wasn't sure how she felt about it all just yet. They were so fresh off of their breakup, still smoothing things over, still healing, and now being engaged, she selfishly wanted to just enjoy that time with him. She didn't know how she felt about being a mother, or a pregnant bride or a bride with a baby on her hip and started to panic all over again. So, needlessly, she began to gather the small number of dishes and empties that were left around in the party's wake, looking for something to occupy her hands, if not her mind for a moment.

"Stop that," Jughead said from the kitchen with a smile. "-No chores on your birthday, remember?" He continued, referring to their long-standing tradition.

"I can help, it's not much." She offered back sweetly.

Jughead smiled warmly at her, "Did you have fun today?" He asked as he joined her in their minimal living room clean up. He took the dishes and empties from her hands and walked them back to the kitchen while she trailed behind, picking up a few missed items as she went.

"It was so wonderful," She smiled sweetly. "-Thank you for all of it."

Jughead finished in the kitchen and followed her into their living room again, "Anything for you, my love. It really was a great day." He replied as she turned to his wide open arms.

Betty stepped in without hesitation and his long limbs wrapped around her waist. She pressed against him, sagging into his embrace, her arms slung around his shoulder and neck. With her head on his chest, she breathed him in deeply, allowing his familiarity to ease her silent worry.

"Where did you and V disappear to?" He asked lightly, swaying them to the soft music that was still playing through their speakers.

"We went to the coffee shop," Betty replied drowsily.

"You were gone a while,"

"Just girl talk,"

With a hum, Jughead bent in and nuzzled into her neck, leaving light kisses on the soft slope as he hugged her tight, "Anything interesting?" He mumbled only half-heartedly, completely absorbed in her sweet skin.

"Well...kinda. Yea..."

"Oooh, am I allowed to know?"

"I should think so," Betty giggled as he kissed behind her ear. She took a big, deep breath, swallowed the thick lump of fear that was stuck in her throat and gave into the intimacy of their moment, fully allowing him to caress the truth right out of her, "-I'm pregnant."

Jughead's slow assault stopped abruptly, his lips frozen on the column of her neck. She felt his breath hitch then heighten as his grip on her lower back became slack. He took hold of her hips and pushed her away from his body slightly.

He gazed down at her, a swirl of confusion and intrigue overtaking his handsome features, "You're what?"

"You heard me, Juggie." She whispered, her gaze locked on his, her arms now relaxed against his chest, palms pressed to his collarbones.

Jughead gaped at her, "Wha-? How?... I mean I know how, but, what?" He stumbled with a shake of his head.

"I've been forgetful in taking my birth control and..."

"How long have you known?"

"I've had my suspicions for a few weeks,"

"A few weeks?!"

"I didn't know for sure until today, with V."

"A few weeks?!" He asked again.

Betty's brow furrowed in distress, "I'm sorry," She confessed quickly.

"It's ok. I mean, I just, I wish you would have told me sooner. You must have been stressing,"

"I was, but I didn't know for sure and I didn't want to worry you,"

"This is exactly the kind of thing you shouldn't suffer with alone," Jughead offered up softly.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I guess I was in disbelief and not fully ready to accept the truth until I knew for sure."

"And last night?"

"Last night was the cherry on the top of my worry cake,"

Jughead smirked as his eyes dropped to the small space between them. He himself had noticed a few changes to her mood and temperament, noticed that she was tired more frequently, noticed the (slightly) more pronounced swell of her breasts, her sensitivity and taste, but honestly, he didn't put the facts together to generate a proper hypothesis. Needless to say, this news was a shock, not entirely unwelcome, but a shock none the less. Sure, the timing was a bit off, but he honestly didn't care. Betty was growing a human life within her body, a small human who would be cut from their collective cloth, and he couldn't be more grateful for her. As he processed her confession now his mind wandered to thoughts of a tiny, dark-haired, green-eyed child with Betty's kind heart and his sharp wit. He thought about Betty's growing belly, the ethereal glow she would undoubtedly emanate, about what an amazing mother she was going to be, and his heart nearly burst with pride and happiness.

"I was not expecting this," Jughead replied after gathering his running thoughts. Still, this feeling was better than he ever knew it could be.

"You're telling me," Betty joked lightly, watching as he took it all in.

He laughed, though she could hear the nerves simmering just below his laughter. Without another thought, she brought her hands up from his chest to take his jawline in her delicate grip. His eyes locked onto hers but quickly fell shut as she moved him down to her lips. If there was such a thing as a kiss of utter devotion, this was that kiss. Slow, deep, wholehearted and beautiful. The soft hum of approval that rumbled low in his chest stirred her, and she mimicked his vocalization with a mewl of her own, edging him on. Their slow nurse continued, unhurried, but building and brewing and once they were both completely breathless, Betty released his lips.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." She confessed, reaching to push his dark, unruly hair back, and with a lean into her touch he just shook his head, "-Everything today was just so wonderful, and you're so wonderful, I just wanted to be sure before I broke the news." Betty mumbled.

Jughead let out a deep sigh and kissed her again, his lips nearly pleading, hands slipping up her back and back down to the crest of her ass. He welcomed her weight against him as she leaned forward, fingers in his hair, her lips inches from his own still once they had pulled apart.

"Are you happy?" Jughead asked, his mind hazy and their breath culminating, "-Are you happy about this news?" He clarified quickly.

Betty pondered briefly and nodded, before fusing their lips together again. His reaction and the look in his eyes had melted the worry she was holding on to. They had talked about this moment, many times, over many years, but until the moment actually presented itself she was unsure of how she would truly feel. But the dark uneasiness or the uncertainty she had experienced before telling him were gone now, replace with a parentage optimism while allowing the excitement of starting a family to burst through her nerves like sunshine. She knew, without a doubt, that he was going to be an amazing father, his own rocky upbringing had made him all too aware of what not to do, they had both grown so much. She thought about him reading their little tyke stories from his journals that were written and intended for a young JellyBean, or of a mini Jughead sitting next to him as they both devoured mountains of food, sporting his same dark hair and incomparable appetite. But her girl-brain worried and concerned over small things like what this meant for the wedding. The timing and logistics of it all. And what she would or could wear as her wedding dress, for that petty matter.

So she had to ask, "What does this mean for the wedding?"

Jughead softened at her brooding tone and shook his head, "I don't care, Betts. We can get hitched whenever you want. Hell, we can do it tomorrow or 3 years from now. I don't care as long as we're together. And this?" He paused and placed a gentle hand over her stomach between them, the action warming her, the devotion in the action and in his gaze seeping into her very marrow, "-This is the most amazing plot twist,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final thoughts? 
> 
> Comments are the lifeblood of all fanfiction.  
> Be sure to comment relentlessly!!
> 
> Much love! xox


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